Working for others – Prüm Abbey, the owner of a large estate

Prüm Abbey owned more land than many princes

The imperial abbey Prüm St. Saivour was one of THE biggest landlords of the Middle Ages. The former Benedictine Abbey was founded in 721 by Bertrada, the great-grandmother of Charlemagne (see also Bertradaburg). Noble families founded monasteries to take care of their salvation. But the monks of the abbey not only prayed for their benefactors. They also took charge of rather worldly duties, like property management. Because in the Middle Ages many abbeys and monasteries were more than a place of worship: They were part of a large network of power and epicentres for development. They generated and preserved knowledge, they were investors, hospitals and landlords. This was also true for Prüm Abbey .

The Polyptychon of Prüm records the properties of Prüm Abbey

In the 9th century the abbey ruled over a vast estate that stretched form the Upper Rhine Region to Brittany. We know this thanks to a register of its properties which is called the Polyptychon of Prüm. This register was written after two Norman raids had badly damaged the abbey. Prüm Abbey regained some of its old glory thanks to abbot Regino. Today his statue greets visitors at the entrance. Temporary the Bertradaburg belonged to Prüm Abbey. But after the 13th century the monastery fell into decline. It lost power to the diocese of Trier.  Today you can visit Prüm Abbey and see the tomb of emperor Lothar I. and a unique relic.  The “sandals of Christ” are kept here.