holds those relics, but the church itself has been subsumed into a Baroque renovation. A small, 9th century chapel remains standing within walking distance of the church, as do the foundations of a later women's abbey.
The great scholar Rabanus Maurus was abbot from 822 to 842.
From its foundation, the abbey Fulda and its territory was based on an Imperial grant, and therefore was a sovereign principality subject only to the German emperor. Fulda was made a bishopric in 1752 and the prince-abbots were given the additional title of prince-bishop. The prince-abbots (and later prince-bishops) ruled Fulda and the surrounding region until the bishopric was forcibly dissolved by Napoleon 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 of the Dom (Cathedral) of Fulda (1704�1712) and of the Stadtschloss (Castle-Palace, 1707�1712) by Johann Dientzenhofer. The city parish church, St. Blasius, was built between 1771�1785.
In 1764 a porcelain factory was started in Fulda under Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot Heinrich von Bibra, but shortly after his death it was closed down in 1789 by his successor, Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot Adalbert von Harstall. Because of its quality and rarity, this porcelain is much prized by collectors.
The city was given to the prince of Orange-Nassau in 1803, was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1806, and in 1809 to the principality of Frankfurt. After the Congress of Vienna, most of the territory was given to the electorate of Hesse, and in 1866 was, with the latter, annexed to Prussia.
Fulda lends its name to the Fulda Gap, a traditional east-west invasion route used by Napoleon and others. During the Cold War, it was presumed to be an invasion route for any conventional war between NATO and Soviet forces. The strategic importance of this region (along the old West/East German border) led to a large
