The region of Thorn was originally a swamp nearby the
Roman road between
Maastricht and
Nijmegen. But the region was drained and about 975,
Bishop Ansfried of Utrecht founded a Benedictine nunnery. This monastery developed since the 12th century into a secular
stift or
convent. The principal of the
stift was the
abbess. She was assisted by a chapter of at most twenty ladies of the
nobility. Previously the abbess and the chapter were endowed with religious tasks but, since the 12th century, they served secular matters and formed the government of a truly sovereign miniature
principality, a smaller independent
state in the
German Holy Roman Empire, approximately 250 x 250 metres. Besides Thorn,
Ittervoort,
Grathem,
Baexem,
Stramproy,
Ell,
Haler and
Molenbeersel belonged to this principality. After the French invasion in the winter of 1794–95 and the formal abolition in 1797 made an end to the existence of the abbey and the
principality of Thorn; Thorn was first part of the department of
Meuse-Inférieure, and after the
Vienna Congress it became a municipality of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands. == Gallery ==