Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm founded by the Frankish widow Bertrada the elder and her son Charibert, Count of Laon, in 721. At times during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the monastery contained over three hundred monks. The period of its internal prosperity extends to the thirteenth century. The monks were energetic cultivators of the land. The monastery cared for the poor and sick. Learning was also cultivated. Among those who studied at the school of the monastery were Ado, later archbishop of Vienne (860–75).[4] Wandelbert (813–70), was head of the school, and a distinguished poet. Abbot Regino of Prüm (893–99) made a name for himself as historian and codifier of canon law.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the monastery declined, partly from the oppression of its secular administrators, but more from internal decay. It reached such a pass that the monks divided the revenues among themselves and lived apart from one another.
Consequently, the archbishops of Trier sought to incorporate the rich abbey and its extensive possessions into the archbishopric. In 1376, Emperor Charles IV gave his consent to this, as did Pope Boniface IX in 1379, but the pope's consent was recalled in 1398. Pope Sixtus IV in about 1473 also gave his approval to the incorporation. But the abbots refused to submit and even in 1511 carried on war against the archbishop, by then an elector. Finally, when the abbey was near ruin, Pope Gregory XIII issued the decree of incorporation, dated 24 August 1574, which was carried into effect in 1576 after the death of Abbot Christopher of Manderscheid.
After this, the archbishops-electors of Trier were 'perpetual administrators' of the abbey. The abbey was now brought into order within and without, and once more flourished to such a degree that the two French Benedictine antiquarians Edmond Martène and Ursin Durand, who visited the monastery in 1718, stated in their Voyage littéraire that of all the monasteries in Germany, Prüm showed the best spirit, and study was zealously pursued. The monks made efforts even in the 18th century to shake off the control of Trier.
Secularization of the Abbey
In 1801, Prüm, occupied by French revolutionary troops since 1794, was formally annexed to France, secularized, and its estates sold; Napoleon gave its buildings to the city. In 1815, Prüm passed into the possession of Prussia as a part of the Rhine Province, and in the course of time became part of modern Germany, in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The church, built in 1721 by the Elector Ludwig, is now a parish church.[6] The remaining monastic buildings are now used for the secondary school named the 'Regino-Gymnasium' after the Abbot Regino of Prüm.
Sandals of Jesus Christ
The Sandals of Jesus Christ are considered to be the most notable of the many relics of the church; they are mentioned by Pepin in the deed of 762. He is said to have received them from Rome as a gift of Pope Zachary or Pope Stephen II.
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