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Ruler(s): The Abbey of Kempten is a Principality as well as a religious institution.

It is ruled by the Duke-Abbot who is elected by other members of the Benedictine order that are members of the Abbey

Personalities:

• • The newly-elected Duke-Abbot is Alois Friedrich von Dietmann, an other-wordly man very committed to the scriptures and with a keen interest in music and art.

  • The key secular figure in the principality is Augustus Graf von Lindenburg, the head of the most senior noble family. In effect the von Lindenburgs are the effective government of the Duchy, despite being theoretically under the suzerainty of the Duke-Abbot.

Geographical:

• • Geographical: The principality stretches from Wiggensbach in the north via Kempten and Sonthofen to Oberstdorf and the border with the Tyrol in the south, and from the Oberallgau Forest in the east to Lindau on the shores of Lake Constance to the west. Such connections keep the Abbey in touch with the nearby Ecclesiastical states of Augsburg, Constance and Bregenz. The country is characterised by pre-alpine hills, rolling pastures and forests. Winters can be harsh, particularly to the south. Its nearest secular neighbours are Bavaria to the east and Grnutshuffen to the west

  • Trade and Industry: Due to its geography the agricultural produce of the region is primarily dairy produce, logging and rougher cultivated crops such as rye. Some wheat and hops are also grown, but these are for the speciality of the region: beer. The major industry is brewing, over which the Abbey has a monopoly. There is some weaving of locally produced wool and tanning.

  • Maps: not available - or add here or put in link to other site

  • Places of Interest:

    • The key place of interest is the Abbey itself, or more notably the library. Built up over several hundred years the library of Kempten is a famous European phenomenon and scholars from all over the Catholic world travel to use it.

    • The Abbey is also the resting place of St Magus and St Gordianus and its patron saint and founder, St Hildegard, wife of Emperor Charlemagne.

  • Geopolitical

    • Within the territory of the principality lies the Imperial Free City of Kempten. While the Abbey and a town around it has been established on the hill, the Free City has developed in the river valley. What makes the relationship uneasy is that the Free City is Protestant, and the proximity of the Abbey and potential threat of absorbtion has made this belief even fiercer. The Free City is led by Burgomeister Bruno Eckhardt and has its own flag of yellow (left) and black (right) surmounted by an Imperial eagle in these colours but reversed.

Website: http://kemptenrpg.blogspot.com/