Memmingen Tourist Attractions
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Situation and characteristicsThe old free imperial city of Memmingen, still partly surrounded by its old walls with their imposing gates and preserving much of its Gothic and Renaissance aspect, lies in the foreland of the Allgäu Alps. The main elements in its economy are industry, cheese manufacture and its trade in agricultural produce.
Old Town
The picturesque old town in Memmingen, traversed in a wide arc by the Stadtbach, is still partly surrounded by medieval walls.
Market
The central feature of Memmingen's old town is the Markt, with the Renaissance Town Hall (1589; Roccoco stucco decoration of 1765), the Steuerhaus (arcades of 1495; facade rebuilt 1909) and the Grosszunft (1453; remodeled in Baroque style 1718), the town's patrician club.In Ulmer Strasse, north of the Markt, are the Parishaus (1736), now housing the Municipal Gallery, and the Grimmelhaus (18th century stucco decoration). At the Ulmer Tor (Ulm Gate; 1495) Ulmer Strasse leaves the old town.
St Martin's Church
To the west of the Markt in Memmingen stands the Gothic St Martin's Church, with its 66 m/217ft high tower it is the town's principal landmark. The church contains fine Gothic choir-stalls (1501-07) by the Memmingen school of wood-carvers.
Municipal Museum
On the north side of St Martin's Church in Memmingen is the Hermannsbau, a Late Baroque mansion (1766) now occupied by the Municipal Museum (prehistory and the early historical period, pictures, furniture, faience, etc.).
Kinderlehrkirche
Southwest of St Martin's Church in Memmingen can be found the Kinderlehrkirche (originally an Antonian monastic church; 14th-15th C.), with frescoes.
Fuggerbau
South of the Kinderlehrkirche is the Fuggerbau (1589), the Memmingen agency of the Fuggers, the great merchant dynasty of Augsburg. During the Thirty Years War Wallenstein stayed here in 1630 and Gustavus Adolphus in 1632.
Weinmarkt
To the east of the Fuggerbau in Memmingen, beyond the Stadtbach, lies the Weinmarkt with the guild-houses of the weavers and the shopkeepers. Here, in 1525 during the Peasant War, the rebellious peasants drew up their "Twelve Articles".
Church of Our Lady
On the southern edge of the old town in Memmingen is the Gothic Frauenkirche, which is first mentioned in the records in 1258, with fine cycle of frescoes (school of Bernhard Strigel) in the nave and choir.
Wallenstein Summer
The annual Wallenstein Summer festival takes place in late July and includes events designed to please the young and old. Children's parades, fishing days, concerts and street entertainment are only some of the events offered.Every four years the town reverts back to 1630 when Wallenstein reigned in the city for five months. Thousands of residents dress in period costumes to provide entertainment and reenact historical events.
Surroundings
Buxheim
4km/2.5mi west of Memmingen is Buxheim, with the old Carthusian monastery of Maria Saal (founded 1402; conventual buildings and church remodeled in Baroque style in 17th-18th C.). The Baroque choir-stalls by Ignaz Weibel are among the finest examples of woodcarving in South Germany.
Illerbeuern
At Illerbeuern, 10km/6mi south of Memmingen, is the Swabian Farmhouse Museum, the oldest open-air museum in Bavaria.
Ottobeuren
Southwest of Memmingen, in the valley of the Westliche Günz, lies the spa of Ottobeuren (Kneipp cure) and its monastery.
Ottobeuren Monastery
Ottobeuren, near Memmingen, is mainly famed for the great Benedictine monastery with its magnificent Baroque church. The church was built from 1737 onwards to the design of Johann Michael Fischer, with stucco decoration by Johann Michael Feuchtmayr and frescoes by Johann Jakob and Franz Anton Zeiller. The famous organs in the choir (1766) were built by Karl Joseph Riepp.
Abbey Museum
The Abbey Museum is located in a Benedictine Abbey that was founded in 764.
