Kaufungen Abbey

Kaufungen Abbey stands in the small town of Kaufungen in the hills of northern Hesse. Founded in 1017 by Empress Cunigunde, wife of Henry II, it began as a Benedictine nunnery on an imperial estate. The abbey church was consecrated in 1025, marking the beginning of its long history. In 1089 it became an Imperial abbey, answering only to the Holy Roman Emperor. Later, it changed from a nunnery to a home for noblewomen before reverting to Benedictine life in the 16th century. The abbey’s story is woven with royal figures and political shifts. Cunigunde, later canonised, took her vows there after her husband’s death. The Counts of Maden acted as protectors, while Landgrave William II restored Benedictine rule. During the Reformation, Landgrave Philip I turned the abbey into a refuge for noblewomen under the Hessian Knighthood. Today, the Ritterschaftliches Stift Kaufungen continues its original purpose. The former abbey church, now Stiftskirche, remains the most important late Ottonian building in north Hesse. Its westwork hides an Imperial gallery uncovered in 1938. The church still serves as a parish place and hosts classical music concerts. The abbey’s quiet setting and surviving structures offer a glimpse of its medieval past.