imperial abbey

An Imperial abbey (, Reichskloster, Reichsstift, Reichsgotthaus) was a religious establishment within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of imperial immediacy (Reichsunmittelbarkeit) and therefore was answerable directly to the Emperor. The possession of imperial immediacy came with a unique form of territorial authority known as Landeshoheit, which carried with it nearly all the attributes of sovereignty. Particularly after the Peace of Westphalia (1648), all entities of the Empire possessing immediacy enjoyed and exercised de facto sovereign power. Any abbot or abbess, no matter how Lilliputian his or her domain, governed with basically the same political powers as those of any secular prince such as levying taxes, rendering low and high justice, maintaining a standing army, and if they were so inclined, despatching embassies, declaring war, signing treaties, etc. About 45 Imperial abbeys (including priories) survived up to the mass secularisation of 1802–03.