Quedlinburg Abbey

Quedlinburg Abbey (German: Stift Quedlinburg or Reichsstift Quedlinburg) is a former abbey of secular canonesses (Frauenstift) in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Matilda, the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler, as his memorial. For many centuries it and its abbesses enjoyed great prestige and influence. Quedlinburg Abbey was an Imperial Estate and one of the approximately forty self-ruling Imperial Abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire. It was disestablished in 1802/3. The church, known as Stiftskirche St Servatius, is now used by the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Germany. The castle, abbey, church, and surrounding buildings are exceptionally well preserved and are masterpieces of Romanesque architecture. As a result, and because of their historical importance, the buildings were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.