Backnang Abbey

The monastery was founded around 1116 by Margrave Hermann II of Verona and Baden and his wife Judith of Backnang on Backnang's castle hill. Pope Paschal I confirmed the foundation in the same year. By 1123, a renewal was necessary with the support of Augustinians from the Marbach monastery in Alsace. From 1123 to 1243, the collegiate church of St. Pancras served as the burial place for the Margraves of Baden, who were related to the Zähringers, which brought wealth and influence to the monastery. Due to its exposed location, the abbey increasingly came under Württemberg influence in the 13th century. In 1235, it became entangled in a feud, during which it was devastated and burned, resulting in the deaths of the provost and numerous canons. Margravine Irmengard subsequently transferred her husband's remains to Lichtental in 1243. Pope Innocent IV placed the abbey under his protection in 1245 and confirmed its extensive possessions. In 1297, Backnang became Württembergian. In 1477, it was converted into a collegiate church.