Reichsunmittelbarkeit
In 1138, the abbey was made "reichsfrei" by Conrad III, being granted Imperial immediacy, the privilege of being subject only to the Holy Roman Emperor, rather than to an intermediate lord. The abbey was under the "Vogtei" (loosely "protectorship") of the Barony of Mérode until the abbey purchased its "Vogtei" from them, in 1649.