Babenhausen () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the district of

Unterallgäu Unterallgäu (, ) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Neu-Ulm, Günzburg, Augsburg, Ostallgäu, Oberallgäu, and the districts Ravensburg und Biberach in Baden-Württ ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is seat of a municipal association with Egg an der Günz, Kettershausen, Kirchhaslach, Oberschönegg and Winterrieden. The view of Babenhausen is dominated by the Fugger Castle, a local attraction with a museum, and the Sankt Andreas Church. It is the seat of the Fuggers, a merchant family from

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

which played an important role during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

History

Babenhausen was first mentioned in a document related to a boundary conflict in 1237. Municipal rights can be traced back to 1315, and in 1337, Emperor Ludwig IV awarded the city with the town charter of Ulm. Babenhausen finally lost its municipal rights after the Rottweiler verdict in 1466. The castle and its lordship were purchased by Anton Fugger in 1539. Babenhausen became an Imperial Principality in 1803. As an effect of the '' Rheinbund'' act, the city was integrated into the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806. The castle is still in the Fugger family and owned by the current Prince Fugger of Babenhausen (''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

Fugger von Babenhausen''). Babenhausen was connected to the railway in 1894 (''Illertalbahn''), but local public transportation on this route was discontinued in 1964. The railway embankment now provides a bicycle path. Today, the town is known as ''Markt Babenhausen''.

References

External links

*
''Fugger''
– official Fugger family website with information on the museum in Babenhausen (in German) Unterallgäu {{Unterallgäu-geo-stub