Around 1078 the Counts of Comburg-Rothenburg founded a Benedictine monastery under the control of the Diocese of Würzburg on the site of their castle, which one of the founders, Count Burkhard, entered as a monk. The first monks came from Brauweiler in the Rhineland, but between 1086 and 1088 a monk from Hirsau was appointed abbot, so that Comburg was one of the monasteries of the Hirsau Reform from that point on. In addition to the count family, their relatives and neighbors also supported the establishment. The Mainz Ministeriale Wignand donated such large estates to the monastery that he was regarded as another monastery donor.
After a heyday that can also be seen in numerous buildings, the monastery declined in the 13th century, which led to an economic collapse in 1326. There were also internal tensions and disputes between the abbot and the convent over the use of the monastery property. The situation improved again in the second half of the 14th century. The economic recovery went hand in hand with a relaxation of the rules of the order.
The protective bailiwick was with the founding family until they died out, fell to the Hohenstaufen family in 1138 and was claimed by the Limpurg taverns in 1254; However, the monastery was able to fend off this claim and remained under the royal bailiwick, which Ludwig the Bavarian transferred to the imperial city of Schwäbisch Hall in 1318/1319. In 1484 the bailiwick fell as an imperial fiefdom to the bishop of Würzburg, who appointed the Limpurg taverns as sub-governors.
Source: Wikipedia