Fulda (German pronunciation:[ˈfʊlda]ⓘ; historically in English called Fuld) is a city inHesse,Germany, on theriver Fulda and is the administrative seat of theFulda district (Kreis). In 1990 the city hosted the 30thHessentag state festival.
The army gate, built around 1150, on the city side of the city palace, from which you walked past the abbot's castle out of the city to get to the Via Regia
In 744Saint Sturm, a disciple ofSaint Boniface, founded theBenedictinemonastery of Fulda as one of Boniface's outposts in the reorganization of the church inGermany.[3] The initial grant for the abbey was signed byCarloman,Mayor of the Palace inAustrasia (in office 741–47), the son ofCharles Martel.[4] The support of the Mayors of the Palace, and later of the early Pippinid andCarolingian rulers, was important to Boniface's success. Fulda also received support from many of the leading families of the Carolingian world. Sturm, abbot from 747 until 779, was most likely related to theAgilolfing dukes ofBavaria.
Fulda also received large and constant donations from the Etichonids, a leading family inAlsace, and from theConradines, predecessors of theSalianHoly Roman Emperors. Under Sturm, the donations Fulda received from these and other important families helped in the establishment of daughter-houses near Fulda. In 751, Boniface and his disciple and successorLullus obtained an exemption for Fulda, having it placed directly under thePapal See and making it independent of interference by bishops or worldly princes. The monastery school became a renowned center of learning.[5]
St Bonifacebaptizing and undergoingmartyrdom – from the Sacramentary of Fulda
After his martyrdom by theFrisians in 754, the relics of Saint Boniface were brought back to Fulda. Because of the stature this afforded the monastery, the donations increased, and Fulda could establish daughter-houses further away, for example inHamelin. Meanwhile, SaintLullus, successor of Boniface asarchbishop of Mainz, tried to absorb the abbey into his archbishopric, but failed.
The crypt of the original abbey church still holds those relics, but the church itself has been subsumed into aBaroque renovation. A small, 9th-century chapel remains standing within walking distance of the church, as do the foundations of a later women's abbey.Rabanus Maurus served as abbot at Fulda from 822 to 842.[6] Fulda Abbey owned such works as theRes Gestae by the fourth-century Roman historianAmmianus Marcellinus and theCodex Fuldensis, as well as works byCicero,Servius,Bede andSulpicius Severus.
Prince-abbotBalthasar von Dernbach adopted a policy ofCounter-Reformation. In 1571 he called in theJesuits to found a school and college. He insisted the members of the chapter should return to amonastic form of life. Whereas his predecessors had toleratedProtestantism, resulting in most of the citizenry of Fulda and a large portion of the principality's countryside professingLutheranism, Balthasar ordered his subjects either to return to theCatholic faith or leave his territories.[7] He also ordered theFulda witch trials, in which hundreds of people, including a number of crypto-Protestants were arrested on charges of witchcraft alongside others.[8]
The foundation of the abbey of Fulda and its territory originated with an Imperial grant and the sovereignprincipality therefore was subject only to theGerman emperor. Fulda became a bishopric in 1752 and theprince-abbots were given the additional title ofprince-bishop. The prince-abbots (and later prince-bishops) ruled Fulda and the surrounding region until thebishopric was forcibly dissolved byNapoleon I in 1802.
The city went through a baroque building campaign in the 18th century, resulting in the current "Baroque City" status. This included a remodeling ofFulda Cathedral (1704–12)[9] and of theStadtschloss (Fulda Castle-Palace, 1707–12) byJohann Dientzenhofer. The city parish church, St Blasius, was built between 1771 and 1785. In 1764 aporcelain factory was started in Fulda under Prince-Bishop, Prince-AbbotHeinrich von Bibra, but in 1789, shortly after his death, it was closed down by his successor, Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot Adalbert von Harstall.[10]
Fulda lends its name to theFulda Gap, a traditional east–west invasion route used by Napoleon I and others. During theCold War it was presumed to be an invasion route for any conventional war betweenNATO andSoviet forces. Downs Barracks in Fulda was the headquarters of the American14th Armored Cavalry Regiment, later replaced by the11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The cavalry had as many as 3,000 soldiers from the end ofWorld War II until 1993. Not all those soldiers were in Fulda proper but scattered over observation posts and in the cities ofBad Kissingen andBad Hersfeld. The strategic importance of this region, along the border between East and West Germany, led to a largeUnited States and Soviet military presence.[13]
Fulda has traditionally been a conservative Catholic city, with theRoman Catholic Diocese of Fulda being based in the city cathedral. During the time of theGerman Empire andWeimar Republic, the city was a stronghold for theCentre Party. After the end of World War II, in addition to all mayors, Fulda's constituency seats have been safe seats forCDU in both theLandtag of Hesse (District X 1946–1950, District 14 1950–1983, Fulda I since 1983) andBundestag (Fulda electoral district). The CDU has never received less than 42.4 percent of the vote in communal elections since 1946.
Oberbürgermeister (Lord mayor) Department I (head and personnel administration, finance, committee work, culture, business development, city marketing, investments)
Between 1927 and 1974, Fulda was a district-free city (Kreisfreie Stadt). Since 1974, it has been included in the eponymous district as a city with special status (Stadt mit Sonderstatus), a distinction it shares with six other Hessian cities, meaning that it takes on tasks more usually performed by the district.
^Otto Schaffrath.Fürstabt Balthasar von Dermbach und seine Zeit. Studien zur Geschichte der Gegenreformation in Fulda (=Veröffentlichung des Fuldaer Geschichtsvereins. Bd. 44,ZDB-ID517272-x). Parzeller, Fulda 1967, mit umfangreicher Literaturübersicht.(in German)
^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879)."Fulda" .The American Cyclopædia.
