Fulda, Abbey Church

Fulda grew around a Benedictine abbey founded in 744 by Sturmius, a pupil of St. Boniface, the missionary. From this abbey Christianity was spread throughout central Germany; numerous scholars were associated with the abbey school. From the 13 th cent. the abbots of Fulda ruled the town and the surrounding area as princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1752 they were raised to the rank of prince – bishops.