BAD MERGENTHEIM

city, Baden-Wrttemberg Land (state), south-central Germany, on the Tauber River, about 60 miles (95 km) west of Nrnberg. An ancient settlement, it became the property of the Knights of the Teutonic Order in 1219 and was the residence (15251809) of the grand master of the order. The city was chartered in 1340. The Baroque castle of the knights survives, and there are two 14th-century churches and numerous medieval houses. Mineral springs, known in the Bronze and Iron ages but forgotten after they had silted up, were rediscovered in 1826, and the city developed as a health resort. Pop. (1989 est.) 19,801.