MEMMINGEN

city, Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany, on the Ach River (a small tributary of the Iller), south of Ulm. First mentioned in 1128, it was founded as a town by Duke Welf VI in 1160; it later belonged to the Hohenstaufens. It was a free imperial city from 1286 until it was absorbed by Bavaria in 1803. Historic landmarks include remains of the fortifications, the Protestant pilgrimage church of St. Martin with finely carved Gothic choir stalls, and the Church of Our Lady with notable late-Gothic wall paintings. The Renaissance town hall dates from 156889 and there are old patrician, guild, and burghers' houses. The Baroque Hermannsbau (1766) incorporates the municipal museum. Ottobeuren, just southeast, has an enormous Benedictine abbey, first founded in 764, with 250 rooms, 20 halls, and six courts. A rail junction, Memmingen's industries include brewing and the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, electrical machinery, and metal products. Pop. (1989 est.) 37,942.