Quedlinburg Abbey
Imperial Abbey of Quedlinburg Reichsstift Quedlinburg | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 936–1802/3 | |||||||||
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 | ||||||||
| 1802/3 | |||||||||
1816 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| 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) is a former abbey of secular canonesses (Frauenstift) in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Matilda, the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler, as his memorial. 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.