St. Wiperti Abbey

The origins of St. Wiperti date back to the 9th century, when it was founded by Hersfeld Abbey and housed a community of clerics. Between 901 and 912, the Wiperti Church came into the possession of the Liudolfingers under Otto the Illustrious. His son, King Henry I, had the original church demolished and a new hall church built. From 961, St. Wiperti existed as a regulated monastery dedicated to Saints Wigbert and James. It served as an Easter palatinate for the Ottonians and was the scene of important imperial diets. In 1146, the monastery was converted into a Premonstratensian monastery at the instigation of Abbess Beatrix II. This reorientation led to a period of prosperity, during which the monastery significantly expanded its possessions and its buildings. In 1547, the monastery was dissolved as part of the secularization.