Fulda Abbey, or the
Princely Abbey of Fulda, or the
Imperial Abbey of Fulda (German:
Fürstabtei Fulda,
Hochstift Fulda,
Kloster Fulda) was a
Benedictine abbey as well as an ecclesiastical principality centered on
Fulda, in the present-day
German state of
Hesse. It was founded in 744 by
Saint Sturm, a disciple of
Saint Boniface. Through the 8th and 9th centuries, Fulda Abbey became a prominent center of learning and culture in Germany, and a site of religious significance and pilgrimage following the burial of Boniface. The growth in population around Fulda would result in its elevation to a prince-bishopric in the second half of the 18th century.