Fulda Local Customs

For centuries, Fulda was a bastion of Catholic Religion. Fulda was a country of it's own within Germany, and under the authority of the Archbishop of Fulda, who answered to none other that the Pope, himself.
Fulda was an episcopate state, a church-state if you will. It was only loyal to Holy Roman Emperor, so long he was in good-standing (that is, not ex-communicated at the time). Fulda was organized like a beehive, with hundreds of small abbeys and monasteries littering the countryside, who worked their fingers to the bone, tirelessly increasing the blessings (wealth) of the Bishop, who more often than not used to occupy himself with worldly interests instead of godly interests.
This is why the Episcopate of Fulda was often feared in medieval times. Besides brandishing the fear of the threat of ex-communication, heresy, and witchcraft, they could and did impose a military threat to their neighbors by welding a sizeable army. Not that a Bishop could actually command an army, being a servant of Christ. He usually got around it, by employing a Vogt – a Bishop’s Captain of the Guard, or a Zentgraf – a church tax collector, or a Schultheiß – magistrate and judge for church subjects.
Even today, the Bishop of Fulda’s opinion is still highly respected today when it comes to modern-day religious and social issues. One thing that will become very apparent when you visit Fulda – it’s not unusual to see monks and nuns walking around in their traditional order dress.