The royal nunnery of the Fraumuenster, founded by Louis the German on 21 July 853 with the lands of Zurich, Uri and the Albis forest, is the town lord of Zurich: the abbess names the town's officers (the Schultheiss, the mint master and the toll keepers) and holds market, mint and toll rights.
Over her stands the imperial advocate (Reichsvogt) of Zurich, since 1173 again the Zaehringen duke, Berthold V in 1200. In Uri the abbey owns the great manors from which the valley is run. The abbesses become princesses of the Empire only about 1234.
Who holds it
- Title
- Abbess of the Fraumuenster
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
The lists available show Mechtild of Tirol (1143-1172) and then an abbess A. about 1212; the abbess on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
What it holds
- Zurich: town lordship of the abbess, with market, mint and toll rights
- Uri: the abbey's manors and stewardships (Altdorf, Buerglen, Silenen, Erstfeld) from the 853 endowment; high justice imperial
- The Albis forest and Sihlwald, and land at Horgen, Langnau and in the Reppisch valley
How it was acquired
Foundation charter of 853; market, mint and toll rights in the eleventh century.
How things stand that morning
The abbess is town lord; Berthold V of Zaehringen is the imperial advocate and the real power.
Wealth
Toll and mint of Zurich, the market on the Limmat at the end of the lake; rents from Uri and the Albis.
Threats
- The Zaehringen advocate's power
- The citizens of Zurich
Advocates and rivals
The Reichsvogt of Zurich: the Zaehringen from 1097/1098, the Lenzburgs about 1153-1173, the Zaehringen again from 1173 until 1218; the canons of the Grossmuenster across the river; the rising citizens.
Places of note
- Fraumuenster: Abbey church on the Limmat
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Foundation and town lordship are well attested (de.wikipedia, en.wikipedia); the abbess of 1200 is not pinned.
On the map: Zurich is drawn as the modern city, larger than the medieval town. In Uri the abbey held manors and stewardships, not the high justice.
Primary sources for Zähringen
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.