Fulda,

Fulda, a town of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, 67 miles NE. of Frankfurt-on-the-Main by rail, and on the river Fulda, is an irregularly built old town, still partially surrounded by its ancient walls. It is principally celebrated for its Benedictine abbey, founded by St Boniface (q.v.), the 'Apostle of Germany,' in the 8th century, which subsequently became a great centre of missionary enterprise as well as a notable seat of theological learning. Towards the end of the 10th century its abbot was made primate of all the abbeys of Germany. Having become corrupted and subject to many abuses, the monastery was thoroughly reformed in the early part of the 10th century by the introduction of new monks from abroad. The cathedral, six times destroyed by fire, was rebuilt in 1704-12 on the plan of St Peter's at Rome. It is 324 feet long, and covers the crypt of St Boniface. The Romanesque church of St Michael (1822) was restored in 1854. In the library is Boniface's copy of the Gospels, besides other valuable MSS. and early printed books. The town has manufactures of various textiles, with dyeing, tanning, and the making of wax candles. Pop. (1875) 10,799; (1890) 13,125. Fulda, which owed its existence to the abbey, was created a town in 1208, and from the 16th century onwards had a very eventful history, being taken in the Peasants' War, the Thirty Years' War, and the Seven Years' War. From 1734 to 1804 it possessed a university. During the Kulturkampf it was one of the strongholds of the German Ultramontane party. See works by Gegenbaur (1874) and Schneider (1881).