Schussenried Abbey (Kloster Schussenried, Reichsabtei Schussenried) is a former Catholic monastery in Bad Schussenried, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is famed for its Baroque library hall. The abbey was established in the 12th century by the Premonstratensian Order and made an Imperial Abbey in the 15th century. The monastery sustained immense damage in the Thirty Years' War. In the 18th century, the abbey began expansions in the Baroque style, but was unable to complete them. The abbey was secularized in 1803 and twice awarded during the process of German Mediatization, eventually becoming a possession of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Its second king, William I, opened a foundry on its grounds, which was followed by a nursing home. These ceased operation or moved out of the monastery in the 1990s. History In 1183, two brothers, Berengar and Konrad von Schussenried, unmarried members of the House of Hohenstaufen, donated their holdings – a castle, two nearby mills, a parish church, and even their family coat of arms – to the Premonstratensian Order. The brothers also joined the Order, and were themselves joined in the latter half of the year by 12 canons and a provost sent from Weissenau Abbey to establish a new monastery. Construction began around 1185, and was complete enough by 1188 to allow the burials of Berengar and the provost in the nave of the abbey church. Konrad was also laid to rest in the church three years later. A dispute began at this time with the that resulted in Schussenried's monks fleeing to Weissenau Abbey, where they sought the legal aid of Pope Celestine III. With the help of the Bishop of Constance, an agreement was reached in 1205 that allowed Schussenried's monks to return to their monastery. Further security for the abbey was achieved when Pope Innocent III granted Schussenried his protection on 13 February 1211 and when it was made an imperial abbey and given control of customs in its territories by Emperor Frederick II, in 1227. The general chapter of the Premonstratensian Order itself officially raised Schussenried to the status of abbey in 1440. In 1240, Schussenried was freed from having to recognize a vogt, though it still received, in 1452, the protection of the knight Georg, Truchsess von Waldburg. This was replaced by the 15th century with that of the Holy Roman Emperor himself. Schussenried was freed from the legal jurisdiction of other states as early