Imperial Abbey of Quedlinburg Reichsstift Quedlinburg | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 936–1802/3 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
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 Castle and abbey of Quedlinburg | |||||||||
| Status | Imperial Abbey | ||||||||
| Capital | Quedlinburg | ||||||||
| Government | Elective principality | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages, Early modern | ||||||||
• Abbey founded | 936 | ||||||||
| 1500 | |||||||||
• Turned Protestant | 1539 | ||||||||
• Secularised to Prussia | 1802/3 | ||||||||
1816 | |||||||||
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| Today part of | Germany | ||||||||
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Collegiate Church, Castle, and Old Town of Quedlinburg |
| Criteria | Cultural: iv |
| Reference | 535 |
| Inscription | 1994 (18th Session) |
| Area | 90 ha |
| Buffer zone | 270 ha |
Quedlinburg Abbey (German: Stift Quedlinburg or Reichsstift Quedlinburg) was a house of secular canonesses (Frauenstift) in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.[1][2] It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler, as his memorial.[3] For many centuries it and its abbesses enjoyed great prestige and influence. Quedlinburg Abbey was an Imperial Estate and one of the approximately forty self-ruling Imperial Abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire. It was disestablished in 1802/3. The church, known as Stiftskirche St Servatius, is now used by the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Germany.
The castle, abbey, church, and surrounding buildings are exceptionally well preserved and are masterpieces of Romanesque architecture. As a result, and because of their historical importance, the buildings were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.[4]
- ^ Hans-Erich Weirauch: Die Güterpolitik des Stiftes Quedlinburg im Mittelalter. In: Sachsen und Anhalt, 13; (Magdeburg 1937) p117–181.
- ^ Jan Gerchow (Hrsg.): Essen und die sächsischen Frauenstifte im Frühmittelalter. Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift 2; (Essen, 2003).
- ^ The "Later Life" of Queen Mathilda Page 99
- ^ "Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town of Quedlinburg". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 25 June 2022.