# Princely abbeys and imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire

Princely abbeys (German: Fürstabtei, Fürststift) and Imperial abbeys (German: Reichsabtei, Reichskloster, Reichsstift, Reichsgotthaus) were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of imperial immediacy (Reichsunmittelbarkeit) and therefore were answerable directly to the Emperor. The possession of imperial immediacy came with a unique form of territorial authority known as Landeshoheit, which carried with it nearly all the attributes of sovereignty.

## Princely abbeys and imperial abbeys

The distinction between a princely abbey and an imperial abbey was related to the status of the abbot: while both prince-abbots and the more numerous imperial abbots sat on the ecclesiastical bench of the College of ruling princes of the Imperial Diet, prince-abbots cast an individual vote while imperial abbots cast only a curial (collective) vote alongside his or her fellow imperial abbots and abbesses. Eight princely abbeys (including similar status priories) and roughly 40 imperial abbeys survived up to the mass secularisation of 1802–03 when they were all secularized.
The head of an Imperial abbey was generally an Imperial abbot (Reichsabt) or Imperial abbess (Reichsäbtissin). (The head of a Reichspropstei—an Imperial provostry or priory—was generally a Reichspropst). Collectively, Imperial abbots, provosts and priors were formally known as Reichsprälaten (Imperial Prelates). A small number of the larger and most prestigious establishments had the rank of princely abbeys (Fürstsabtei), and were headed by a prince-abbot or a prince-provost (Fürstabt, Fürstpropst), with status comparable to that of Prince-Bishops. Most however were imperial prelates and as such participated in a single collective vote in the Imperial Diet as members of the Bench of Prelates, later (1575) divided into the Swabian College of Imperial Prelates and the Rhenish College of Imperial Prelates. Despite their difference of status within the Imperial Diet, both the Imperial Prelates and the Prince-Abbots exercised the same degree of authority over their principality.
Some abbeys, particularly in Switzerland, gained the status of princely abbeys (Fürstsabtei) during the Middle Ages or later but they either didn't have a territory over which they ruled or they lost that territory after a short while. This was the case with Kreuzlingen, Allerheiligen, Einsiedeln, Muri and Saint-Maurice abbeys. One major exception was the large and powerful Abbey of St. Gall which remained independent up to its dissolution during the Napoleonic period, despite the fact that, as a Swiss abbey, it had stopped taking part in the Imperial Diet and other institutions of the Holy Roman Empire once the independence of the Swiss Confederacy was recognized in 1648. Elsewhere, the Prince-Abbot of St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest held that title, not on account of the status of the abbey, which was not immediate, but because it was conferred on him by the abbey's ownership of the immediate County of Bonndorf (later annexed to the Principality of Heitersheim of the Knights of Malta).

## Lists of Imperial abbeys
### List of Imperial abbeys with seat and voice at the Imperial Diet of 1792

The following list includes the Imperial abbeys which had seat and voice at the Imperial Diet of 1792. They, along with the two Teutonic Order commanderies whose commanders ranked as prelates, are listed according to their voting order on the two Benches of Prelates of the Diet. Not shown are the abbeys of Stablo, Kempten and Corvey, whose abbots had princely status and sat on the Ecclesiastical Bench of the College of Ruling Princes. For additional information on individual abbeys, see: List A: Imperial abbeys named in the Matrikel below this list.

#### Bench of Swabian Prelates

* Salem
* Weingarten
* Ochsenhausen
* Elchingen
* Irsee
* Ursberg
* Kaisheim
* Roggenburg
* Roth (Mönchroth)
* Weissenau
* Schussenried
* Marchthal
* Petershausen
* Wettenhausen
* Zwiefalten
* Gengenbach
* Neresheim
* Heggbach
* Gutenzell
* Rottenmünster
* Baindt
* Söflingen
* St. George's at Isny

#### Bench of Rhineland Prelates

* Kaisheim (Swabian Bench after 1756)
* Commandery Koblenz (Teutonic Order)
* Commanderies Alsace and Burgundy (Teutonic Order)
* Odenheim and Bruchsal
* Werden
* St. Ulrich's and St Afra's
* St. George's at Isny (Swabian Bench after 1782)
* St. Kornelimünster
* St. Emmeram's
* Essen
* Buchau
* Quedlinburg
* Herford
* Gernrode
* Niedermünster
* Obermünster
* Burtscheid
* Gandersheim
* Thorn

### List A: Imperial abbeys named in the Matrikel of 1521

The religious houses listed here as List A are those named in the Matrikel, or lists of those eligible to vote in the Imperial Diet, including those whose votes were collective rather than individual. Three of these lists survive and are accessible, from 1521, 1755 (or thereabouts) and 1792.
This list includes the Principalities, Imperial abbeys (Reichsabteien and -klöster), Imperial colleges (Reichsstifte), Imperial provostries or priories (Reichspropsteien) and the single Imperial charterhouse (Reichskartause).
The word "Stift", meaning a collegiate foundation or canonry, possibly belonging to a variety of different orders or to none at all, and either with or without rules and vows, for either men ("Herrenstift") or for women (Frauenstift), has been left untranslated, except when it specifically refers to the chapter of a church.
Some of the imperial abbeys were dissolved during the Reformation; others were absorbed into other territories at various times in the general course of political life. Those in Alsace and Switzerland passed out of the Empire in 1648, when Alsace was ceded to France and Switzerland became independent. The great majority of these religious bodies however were secularized during the brief period that included the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and their aftermath, especially as a result of the German mediatization (Reichsdeputationshauptschluss) of February 1803. Any that survived lost their Imperial status when the Holy Roman Empire was wound up in 1806.

#### Abbreviations

* Description and Imperial status column:
** RA stands for Reichsabtei (Imperial abbey)
** RF stands for "Reichsfürstentum" (Princely Abbey)
** RP stands for "Reichspropstei" (Imperial provostry)
* Lost imm. column:
** imm. Imperial immediacy
** Sec. secularised
** Med. mediatised
** Switz. Switzerland
** Hel. Helvetic Republic
* College column:
** RC stands for "Rhenish College"
** SC stands for "Swabian College"
** RF stands for "Reichsfürst", i.e., the head of the house in question had the status of prince with an individual seat and voice in the Imperial Diet; there were ten of those (Fulda, Kempten, Ellwangen, Murbach-Lüders, Berchtesgaden, Weissenburg, Prüm, Stablo-Malmedy, Corvey and St. Gall).
| CoA | Religious house | Location | Founded | Imm. | Lost imm. | To... | Description and status | College |
| | Baindt Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1240 | 1376 | 1802 Sec. | Count of Aspremont-Lynden | Cistercian nunnery; reichsunmittelbar but remained subordinate to Salem Abbey. RA | SC |
| | Berchtesgaden Provostry | Bavaria | 1102 | 1194 | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Salzburg | Augustinian Canons. Fürstpropstei ("Prince-Provostry"). RF from 1380 or 1559 | RF |
| | Buchau Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | c. 700 | 1347 | 1803 Sec. | County of Thurn und Taxis | Frauenstift. RA. RF | RC |
| | Burtscheid Abbey | North Rhine-Westphalia (Aachen) | 997 | 1220 | 1802 Sec. | Roer | Benedictine monastery; from 1220/21 Cistercian nunnery. RF | RC |
| | Buxheim Charterhouse | Bavaria | c. 1100 | 1548 | 1802/03 Sec. | County of Ostein | Canons; Carthusians from 1402 (the only Reichskartause). RP | SC and RC |
| | Comburg | Baden-Württemberg (Schwäbisch Hall) | 1070s | before 15th century | 1587 Med. | Duchy of Württemberg | Benedictine monastery, later Herrenstift. Mediatised by Württemberg 1587; secularised 1803. RA | SC |
| | Corvey Abbey | North Rhine-Westphalia (Höxter) | c. 820 | c. 1150 | 1803 Sec. | Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda | Benedictine monastery. RA; RF no later than 1582 | RF |
| | Disentis Abbey | Switzerland | c. 720 | early 8th century | 1798 Hel. | Three Leagues | Benedictine monastery; secularised 1798; re-established 1803. RA | SC |
| | Echternach Abbey | Luxembourg | 700 | 751 | 1794 Sec. | Forêts | Benedictine monastery. Mediatised by Austria sometime after 1521 RA | |
| | Einsiedeln Abbey | Switzerland | 934 | 965 | 1648 Switz. | Canton of Schwyz | Benedictine monastery. Ceased to be part of the HRE in 1648; secularised 1798; re-established 1803. RA | |
| | Elchingen Abbey | Bavaria | 1128 | 1485 | 1802 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Ellwangen Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | c. 764 | 1011 | 1802 Sec. | Duchy of Württemberg | Benedictine monastery; Fürstpropstei ("Prince-Provostry"). Possibly founded as early as 732. RF | RF |
| | Essen Abbey | North Rhine-Westphalia | c. 845 | betw. 874 and 947 | 1803 Sec. | Kingdom of Prussia | Frauenstift. RA | RC |
| | Frauenchiemsee Abbey (aka Frauenwörth) | Bavaria | 782 | 782 | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Benedictine nunnery. RA | SC |
| | Fraumünster Abbey | Switzerland (Zürich) | 853 | 1218 | 1524 Sec. | Canton of Zurich | Benedictine nunnery. RA | SC |
| | Fürstenfeld Abbey | Bavaria (Fürstenfeldbruck) | 1258 | Uncertain | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Cistercian monastery. RA | SC |
| | Fulda Abbey | Hesse | 744 | 765 | 1802 Sec. | Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda | Benedictine monastery. RF | RF |
| | Gandersheim Abbey | Lower Saxony | 852 | 919 (de facto 877) | 1810 Sec. | Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | Frauenstift. The abbey asserted Imperial immediacy but owned no reichsunmittelbar estates, and was claimed until 1709 by Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. RA | RC |
| | Gengenbach Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 727–35 | 9th century | 1803 Sec. | Margraviate of Baden | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Gernrode Abbey | Saxony-Anhalt | 959 | 961 | 1728 Med. | Principality of Anhalt-Dessau | Frauenstift. De facto sovereignty lost to Anhalt in 1570. RA | RC |
| | Göss Abbey | Austria (Leoben) | 1004 | 1020 | 1782 Sec. | Habsburg monarchy | Benedictine nunnery. RA | SC |
| | Gutenzell Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1237 | 1417 | 1803 Sec. | County of Toerring | Cistercian nunnery. RA | SC |
| | Heggbach Abbey | Baden-Württemberg (Maselheim) | 1231 | 1429 | 1803 Sec. | County of Bassenheim | Beguines; Cistercian nunnery from 1248. RA | SC |
| | Helmarshausen Abbey | Hesse (Bad Karlshafen) | 997 | 997 | 1538 Sec. | Landgraviate of Hesse | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Herford Abbey | North Rhine-Westphalia | 832 | 1147 | 1802 Sec. | County of Ravensberg | Frauenstift. Lutheran from 1533. RA | RC |
| | Herrenalb Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1147/48 | 1275 | 1497 Med. | Margraviate of Baden Duchy of Württemberg | Cistercian monastery. RA | SC |
| | Hersfeld Abbey | Hesse | 736–42 | 775 | 1648 Sec. | Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel | Benedictine monastery. De facto mediatised to Hesse-Kassel from 1606. RA | RC |
| | Irsee Abbey | Bavaria | 1186 | 1695 | 1802 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Kaisheim Abbey (sometimes Kaisersheim Abbey) | Bavaria | 1135 | 1346 | 1802 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Cistercian monastery. Immediacy was not recognised by the Wittelsbachs, who were the Vögte; a legal agreement was reached with their successors in 1656, confirming Reichsfreiheit. RA | SC and RC |
| | Kaufungen Abbey | Hesse (Kassel) | 1017 | 1089 | 1527 Med. | Hessian Knighthood | Benedictine nunnery. Given to the Hessische Ritterschaft 1532; still extant as a private foundation. RA | |
| | Kempten Abbey | Bavaria | 752 | 1062 | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Benedictine monastery; Fürststift from 1524. RA / RF | RF |
| | Klingenmünster Abbey | Rhineland-Palatinate | 636? | 1115 | 1567 Sec. | Electorate of the Palatinate | Possibly founded in 636, definitely before 780. Benedictine abbey until 1490; then Herrenstift. RA / RP | RC |
| | Königsbronn Abbey | Baden-Württemberg (Heidenheim) | 1303 | probably 15th century | 1553 Med. | Duchy of Württemberg | Cistercian monastery, taken over and made Protestant by Württemberg. It remained Protestant despite failed attempts to revert to Catholicism in 1630–32 and 1635–48; it was finally secularised in 1710. RA | |
| | Kornelimünster Abbey | North Rhine-Westphalia (Aachen) | 614 | by mid-9th century | 1802 | Roer | Benedictine monastery. RA | RC |
| | Kreuzlingen Abbey | Switzerland | c. 1125 | 1145 | 1648 Switz. | Canton of Thurgau | Augustinian Canons. Dissolved by the cantonal government in 1848. RA | |
| | Lindau Abbey | Bavaria | c. 822 | 1466 | 1802 | Prince of the County of Bretzenheim | Frauenstift, possibly later a Reichsfürstabtei; RA. | SC |
| | Lorsch Abbey | Hesse (Darmstadt) | 764 | 852 (confirmed) | 1232 Med. | Archbishopric of Mainz | Benedictine monastery until 1248; thereafter Premonstratensian until dissolution in 1556. RA | SC |
| | Malmedy Abbey | Belgium | 645 | 651? | 1794 Sec. | Ourthe | Benedictine monastery, forming a single principality with Stavelot. RA | RF |
| | Marchtal Abbey (also Marchthal) | Baden-Württemberg | before 776 | 1500 | 1803 Sec. | County of Thurn und Taxis | Premonstratensian monastery. Refounded 1171. RA | SC |
| | Marmoutier Abbey; also Maursmünster | Alsace | by 659 | 659 | 1789 | Bas-Rhin | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Maulbronn Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1147 | 1147 | 1806 Sec. | Kingdom of Württemberg | Cistercian monastery. Seized by Württemberg in 1504, secularised in 1534, alternated between Cistercianism and Protestantism until settled to the latter by Peace of Westphalia in 1648. RA | SC |
| | Memleben Abbey | Saxony-Anhalt | 975 | uncertain, poss. late 10th century | 1548 Med. | Hersfeld Abbey | Benedictine monastery. RA | RC |
| | Michaelsberg Abbey (also known as Siegburg Abbey) | North Rhine-Westphalia (Siegburg) | 1064 | 1512 | 1676 Med. | Duchy of Berg | Benedictine monastery. Secularised in 1803. RA | RC |
| | Mönchrot Abbey, also Mönchroth, Münchenroth, Rot or Rot an der Rot Abbey | Baden-Württemberg (Rot an der Rot) | 1126 | 1497 | 1803 Med. | County of Wartenberg | Premonstratensian monastery. RA | SC |
| | Mondsee Abbey | Austria | 748 | 788 | 1791 | Habsburg monarchy | Benedictine monastery. Imperial immediacy lost to the Bishopric of Regensburg 831–1142. RA | SC |
| | Abbey of Münster im Gregoriental | Alsace | 660 | 1235 | 1789 Sec. | Haut-Rhin | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Murbach Abbey (incl Lüders) | Alsace | 727 | 792 | 1789 Sec. | Haut-Rhin | Benedictine monastery. Effectively French since 1648, but anomalously remained legally part of the Empire; dissolved during the Revolution. RF | RF |
| | Muri Abbey | Switzerland | 1027 | 1701 | 1648 Switz. | Helvetic Canton of Baden | Benedictine monastery. The abbey was never immediate, but the abbot was created Reichsfürst in 1701. RA | |
| | Neresheim Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1095 | 1764 | 1802 Sec. | County of Thurn und Taxis | Benedictine monastery. The abbey's status was the subject of litigation with the County of Oettingen until after 1760. RA | SC |
| | Niedermünster | Bavaria (Regensburg) | before 700 | 1002 | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Frauenstift. Refounded 788, 948–55. RA | RC |
| | Nordhausen chapter | Thuringia | poss. mid-10th century | by 1220 | 1802 Sec. | Kingdom of Prussia | Chapter of Nordhausen Cathedral. RA | |
| | Obermünster | Bavaria (Regensburg) | early 9th century | before 1024 | 1810 | Kingdom of Bavaria | Benedictine nunnery, later Frauenstift. RA. RF from 1315 | RC |
| | Oberschönenfeld Abbey | Bavaria | c. 1211 | 1248? | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Beguines until c 1211, then Cistercian nunnery, formalised from 1248. RA | |
| | Ochsenhausen Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1093 | 1495 | 1803 Sec | County of Metternich-Winnenburg | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Odenheim Abbey (originally Wigoldsberg; later also Odenheim and Bruchsal) | Baden-Württemberg | c. 1108 | by 1161 | 1802–03 Sec | Margraviate of Baden | Benedictine monastery; Herrenstift from 1496. RA | RC |
| | Ottobeuren Abbey | Bavaria | 764 | 1299, regranted 1710 | 1802 Sec | Electorate of Bavaria ( Bishopric of Augsburg 1624–1710) | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Petershausen Abbey | Baden-Württemberg (Konstanz) | 983 | early 13th century | 1802 Sec | Margraviate of Baden | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Pfäfers Abbey | Switzerland | 731 | 1408 | 1648 Switz. | Swiss condominium | Benedictine monastery. Ceased to be part of HRE in 1648 (secularised 1798; re-established 1803). RA | |
| | Prüfening Abbey | Bavaria (Regensburg) | 1119 | Unknown | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Prüm Abbey | Rhineland-Palatinate | 720 | 1222 | 1576 Sec. | Archbishopric of Trier | Benedictine monastery. Annexed by France 1794. RF | RF |
| | Quedlinburg Abbey | Saxony-Anhalt | 936 | 936 | 1803 | Kingdom of Prussia | Frauenstift; Lutheran from 1540. RA | RC |
| | Recklinghausen Abbey (also Rechenhausen) | North Rhine-Westphalia | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Essen Abbey | RA | |
| | Reichenau Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 724 | Unknown | 1540 or 1548 | Bishopric of Constance | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Riddagshausen Abbey | Brunswick | 1145/46 | Uncertain, early | 1569 Med. | Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | Cistercian monastery. Mediatised on Reformation to Lutheran seminary; secularised 1809. RA | |
| | Roggenburg Abbey | Bavaria | 1126 | 1482–1485 | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Premonstratensian monastery. RA | SC |
| | Rottenmünster Abbey | Baden-Württemberg (Rottweil) | 1224 | 1237 | 1803 Sec. | Duchy of Württemberg | Cistercian nunnery. Reopened 1898. RA | SC |
| | Saalfeld Abbey | Thuringia (Saalfeld) | 1071 | Unknown | 1526 Sec. | Electorate of Saxony | Benedictine monastery. RA | |
| | St Bartholomäus cathedral chapter | Hesse (Frankfurt am Main) | 852 | Unknown | 1803 Sec. | Imperial City of Frankfurt | Chapter of the Kaiserdom in Frankfurt. RP | RC |
| | St. Blaise's in the Black Forest | Baden-Württemberg | Uncertain | 1609 | 1806 Sec. | Grand Duchy of Baden | Benedictine monastery. The Prince-Abbot of St. Blaise's had princely status (RF) not because of the abbey itself but because the abbey had acquired the County of Bonndorf, which carried princely status with it from 1609 | |
| | St. Emmeram's Abbey | Bavaria (Regensburg) | c. 739 | 1295 | 1803 Sec. | Principality of Regensburg | Benedictine monastery. RA | RC |
| | St. Gall | Switzerland | 613 | 1207 | 1798 Sec. (1648 Switz.) | Helvetic Canton of Säntis | Benedictine monastery; later Fürstabtei. Swiss associate from 1451; secularised temporarily 1527–32. RA / RF | SC |
| | St George's at Isny in the Allgäu | Baden-Württemberg (Isny im Allgäu) | 1096 | 1781 | 1803 Sec. | Princely County of Quadt-Wykradt | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | St. George's Abbey, Stein am Rhein | Switzerland (Stein am Rhein) | 9th century | 15th century | 1521–26 Sec. | Canton of Zurich | Founded 9th century on the Hohentwiel; moved to Stein am Rhein c. 1007. RA | |
| | St. Giles' Abbey, Nuremberg (Schottenkloster Sankt Ägidien) | Bavaria | c. 1140 | Unknown | 1525 Med. | Imperial City of Nuremberg | "Schottenkloster"; Benedictine monastery from 1418. Absorbed by Nuremberg in 1525 (possibly 1567) as unable to document immediacy. RA | |
| | St. Ludger's Abbey | Lower Saxony (Helmstedt) | c. 800 | Unknown | 1802 Sec. | Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | Benedictine monastery. RA | RC |
| | St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier | Rhineland-Palatinate | 4th century | before early 12th century | 1669 Med. | Archbishopric of Trier | Benedictine monastery. Mediatised to the Electorate of the Palatinate in the 16th century, but status not finalised until immediacy definitively surrendered to Trier in 1669. RA | RC |
| | St. Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest | Baden-Württemberg | before 1073 | 1093 | 1806 Sec. | Grand Duchy of Baden | Benedictine monastery. RA | |
| | St. Ulrich's and St. Afra's Abbey | Bavaria | c. 10th century | 1577 de jure 1643 de facto | 1802 Sec. | Imperial City of Augsburg Electorate of Bavaria | Benedictine monastery from 1006–12; probably refounded from a 5th- or 6th-century predecessor. The abbey was made immediate in 1577, but its status was challenged by the Bishop of Augsburg in litigation until 1643/44. RA | RC |
| | Salem Abbey aka Salmansweiler | Baden-Württemberg | 1136 | 1138–52 | 1803 Sec. | Margraviate of Baden | Cistercian monastery. RA | SC |
| | Schaffhausen Abbey | Switzerland | 1049 | 1190 | 1529 Med. | Canton of Schaffhausen | Benedictine monastery. RA | |
| | Schänis Abbey | Switzerland | 9th century | 1045 | 1438 Med. | Swiss condominium | Frauenstift. Frederick IV, King of Germany confirmed the abbatial rights in 1442, but the link with the Empire was broken; the abbess continued to bear the title of Princess of the Holy Roman Empire until secularisation to the canton of St. Gallen under the Act of Mediation in 1803. Suspended during the Protestant Reformation 1529–31. RA | SC |
| | Schussenried Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1183 | 1440 | 1803 Sec. | County of Sternberg-Manderscheid | Premonstratensian monastery. RA | SC |
| | Schuttern Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 603 | 975 | 1801 Sec. | Duchy of Modena | Benedictine monastery. Not to be confused with Schottern Abbey in Austria, secularised in the 15th century. RA | SC |
| | Selz Abbey | Baden, later Alsace | 991 | 992 | 1481 Med. | Electorate of the Palatinate | Benedictine monastery / nunnery. Secularised in 1803. RA | |
| | Söflingen Abbey (sometimes Söfflingen) | Baden-Württemberg (Ulm) | 1258 | 1773 | 1797 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Poor Clares. RA | SC |
| | Stablo or Stavelot Abbey (also Stablingen) | Belgium | 651 | 651? | 1794 Sec. | Ourthe | Benedictine monastery. Formed a single principality with Malmedy. RF. | RF |
| | Thorn Abbey | The Netherlands (Limburg) | c. 975 | 1292 | 1795 Sec. | Meuse-Inférieure | Frauenstift. RA. RF from 1793. | RC |
| | Ursberg Abbey | Bavaria | 1126–28 | 1143 | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Premonstratensian monastery. Not to be confused with Urspring Abbey. RA | SC |
| | Waldsassen Abbey | Bavaria | 1128–32 | 1147 | 1543 Med. | Electorate of the Palatinate | Cistercian monastery. Secularised to the Electorate of Bavaria in 1803; reopened as Cistercian nunnery 1863. RA | SC |
| | Walkenried Abbey | Lower Saxony | 1127 | 1542 | 1648 Med. | Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | Cistercian monastery. RA | RC |
| | Weingarten Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1056 | 1274 | 1803 Sec. | Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| | Weissenau Abbey | Baden-Württemberg (Ravensburg) | 1145 | c. 1257 | 1802 | County of Sternberg-Manderscheid | Premonstratensian monastery. RA | SC |
| | Weissenburg Abbey | Alsace | 7th century | Unknown | 1306 Med. | Imperial City of Weissenburg | Reichspropstei. Raised to Imperial city 1306, joined Décapole 1354, annexed by France 1697. RP / RF (status later assumed by Bishop of Speyer). | RF |
| | Werden Abbey | North Rhine-Westphalia (Essen) | 799 | 877 | 1803 | Kingdom of Prussia | Benedictine monastery. RA | RC |
| | Wettenhausen Abbey | Bavaria | 1130 | Unknown | 1803 Sec. | Electorate of Bavaria | Augustinian Canons. Founded on the site of an earlier foundation, dated 982. RA | SC |
| | Zwiefalten Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | 1089 | 1750 | 1802 Sec. | Duchy of Württemberg | Benedictine monastery. RA | SC |
| CoA | Religious house | Location | Founded | Imm. | Lost imm. | To... | Description and status | College |

### List B: Reichsmatrikel 1521

The Matrikel of 1521 included a number of religious houses which have not been identified:
| Religious house | Location | Dates | Description and Imperial status |
| Beckenried Abbey | Switzerland | ceased to be part of the HRE in 1648 | RA |
| Blankenburg Abbey | nk | nk | nk |
| Brunnen Abbey | Landstrass, Carinthia (Austria) | nk | nk |
| Hynoltshusen Abbey | nk | nk | monastery |
| Kitzingen Abbey | nk | nk | monastery |
| Rockenhausen | nk | nk | RA |
| St. Johann (St. John's Abbey) | nk | nk | nk |
Inclusion in the 1521 Reichsmatrikel is not by itself conclusive evidence that a particular religious house was in fact an Imperial abbey, and the status of the following abbey listed in the Matrikel is questionable in the absence of further confirmation from other sources:
| Religious house | Location | Dates | Description and Imperial status |
| St. John's Abbey in the Thurtal (Sant Johans im Turital) | Switzerland (Alt St. Johann, later Nesslau) | fdd. before 1152; RU nk (if at all); subordinated to St. Gall's Abbey 1555; ceased to be part of the HRE 1648 (dissolved 1805) | Benedictine monastery. Imperial status unknown |

### List C: Imperial abbeys not named in the Matrikel

For a variety of reasons a quantity of religious houses that possessed, or claimed, the status of Imperial immediacy either did not attend the Imperial Diet, or were not listed in the surviving Matrikel. The following list is very far from complete, and possibly some of those listed may not in fact have been immediate (reichsunmittelbar).
| Religious house | Location | Dates | Description and Imperial status |
| Amorbach Abbey | Bavaria | | |
| Edelstetten Abbey | Bavaria | fdd. 1126; more a charitable institution for daughters of the lower Swabian nobility than a monastery. Except for the abbesses, the women were free to leave after some time and get married. Imperial abbey status in 1783 only. Secularized in 1803 and given as a principality to Prince Charles-Joseph de Ligne. One year later, he sold his principality to Nikolaus II, Prince Esterházy. | Augustinian monastery. RA | |
| Engelberg Abbey | Switzerland | Founded in 1120 by Count Blessed Conrad of Seldenburen. Engelberg Abbey (German: Kloster Engelberg) is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden, Switzerland. Initially, the abbey was placed under the immediate jurisdiction of the Holy See, which condition continued until the formation of the Swiss Congregation in 1602 when Engelberg united with the other monasteries of Switzerland and became subject to a president and general chapter. In 1873 a colony from Engelberg founded Conception Abbey, at Conception, Missouri in the United States; in 1882, Mount Angel Abbey was founded near what is now Mount Angel, Oregon, also in the United States. William Wordsworth wrote a poem about the abbey entitled "Engelberg, The Hill of Angels" | Benedictine monastery. RA | |
| Munsterbilzen Abbey | Belgium | | |
| Nienburg Abbey | Saxony-Anhalt | fdd 975; RA temp. Otto II; mediatised 1166 by the Archbishop of Magdeburg; secularised 1563 by the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau | Benedictine monastery. RA | RC |
| Nivelles Abbey | Belgium | | |
| Schöntal Abbey | Baden-Württemberg | fdd. 1157; RA from 1418 to 1495; secularised 1803 | Cistercian; RA |
| Tegernsee Abbey | Bavaria | fdd 760s; granted RA status by Otto II around 978 but unable to exercise effective Imperial immediacy; remained subordinate to Bavaria until secularization in 1803. | Benedictine; RA |
| Wiblingen Abbey | Baden-Württemberg, Ulm | fdd. 1037; subordinate to Habsburg high jurisdiction (Oberhoheit) from about 1500; gained more autonomy in 1701 but was unable to gain immediacy and remained part of Further Austria until secularization in 1806. | Benedictine; |