Ulrich von Güttingen (died 14 February 1277) was the abbot of the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot w ...

from 1272 until his death.Werner Vogler, Ulrich came from a baronial family of the

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

. He was a relative of the earlier abbot Rudolf von Güttingen.Johannes Duft
Abt Ulrich von Güttingen (1272–1277)
''Die Abtei St.Gallen'' (St. Gallen, 1986). He is not mentioned in any surviving source before his election as abbot in 1272. Ulrich was elected by only a minority of monks, the majority choosing

Heinrich von Wartenberg Heinrich von Wartenberg (died 26 April 1274 presumably in Arbon) was anti-abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1272 until 1274. Heinrich was a descendant of the noble family of the Wartenbergs from the area of Baar on the upper Danube. Initially ...

. He did have the support, however, of the

ministerials The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...

and burghers of the town of Saint Gall. The disputed election was followed by armed conflict. Although Ulrich emerged victorious, the abbey was ruined. When Heinrich von Wartenberg died unexpectedly during the feud, his followers elected

Rumo von Ramstein Rumo von Ramstein (died ca. 1300) was abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1274 until 1281. The monk Rumo was a member of the noble family of Ramstein. He was camerarius, sacristan and deacon under the leadership of Abbot Berchtold von Falkenstei ...

as the new abbot. The abbey thus again had two abbots. The feud concerning the legitimacy of the abbacy continued throughout Ulrich's tenure, but was somewhat lessened in severity. Dependent on the burghers for his position, Ulrich granted them a charter that expanded their rights and privileges in 1272 or 1273. He supported the newly elected King

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...

after 1273, spending long periods at his court in an effort to improve the terms of the imperial advocacy (''Reichsvogtei'') over Saint Gall. To finance these stays, Ulrich had to cede abbatial lands to the crown. All of this proved futile, since Rudolf appointed one of the abbey's own ministerials, Ulrich von Ramschwag, as advocate over Ulrich's objections. Ulrich died on the 14 February 1277. No direct successor was elected, as Rumo was accepted by both parties as the legitimate abbot.

References

{{Authority control 1277 deaths People from Thurgau Abbots of Saint Gall