Stift Urach

The foundation of the collegiate church took place in the late 15th century by Count Eberhard V of Württemberg, known as Eberhard im Bart. He brought the Brethren of the Common Life, a late medieval brotherhood from the Netherlands, to Urach and had the collegiate church built adjacent to the already undergoing renovation Amandus Church. The community dedicated itself to theological studies, book production, taught at the Latin school, and engaged in diaconal work. It was considered a precursor to the Württemberg Reformation. This phase ended after the Treaty of Tübingen in 1514.

From 1560 to 1566, at the behest of Duke Christoph of Württemberg, the collegiate church housed a Slavic Bible printing press. The Slovenian reformer Primož Trubar, supported by Hans Ungnad von Sonegg, founded a publishing house here for Slovenian and Croatian Bibles, catechisms, and hymnals. Trubar, the founder of the Slovenian written language, produced translations with Stephan Konsul and Anton Dalmata, of which 30,000 copies were printed. A monument in the inner courtyard commemorates him.

Between 1599 and 1793, the collegiate church served as the headquarters of the "Urach Linen Trading Company." After Duke Friedrich I granted the citizens of Urach a privilege for linen production and marketing, the collegiate church became the office and warehouse for the linen weavers.

From 1818 to 1977, the collegiate church was transformed into one of the four evangelical theological seminaries of Württemberg. Here, seminarians spent the last years of their secondary education. The curriculum included classical philology, theology, literature, and music. From 1969, female seminarians were also admitted. The seminary had to close in 1977 due to the upper secondary school reform.

The Collegiate Church of Urach is located in Reutlingen, a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Since 1980, the Collegiate Church of Urach has been used as a retreat house by the Evangelical State Church in Württemberg in Bad Urach. A monument to Primož Trubar is located in the inner courtyard.

• Urach Castle (Castle, approx. 120 m away)
• Hohenurach Ruin (Ruin, approx. 1364 m away)
• Güterstein Charterhouse (Sacred building, approx. 2924 m away)
• Hohenwittlingen Ruin (Ruin, approx. 3353 m away)