Thanks to the water doctor Sebastian Kneipp, the Unterallgäu became famous far beyond Bavaria.
All information from the history and location of the district to economy, politics and sights at a glance.
The
Unterallgäu
with over 62,000 milk cows the most important milk supplier in Bavaria.
The
legendary pastor and water doctor
Sebastian Kneipp
came
from this
district
.
The district town of
Mindelheim
is known far beyond the national borders for the brilliant general and progenitor of the mercenaries
Georg von Frundsberg
.
Mindelheim - The Unterallgäu district cleverly combines rural traditions and economic progress.
In addition to the flourishing agriculture, the region is the seat of important industrial companies and renowned providers in the health sector.
Unterallgäu district - its history
The district of Unterallgäu has existed in its current form since May 1, 1973. Before that happened, the names and district boundaries changed several times in the history of the region.
The division of the areas began at the beginning of the 19th century with the division into jurisdictions.
In 1804 these were the regional courts in the district:
Ottobeuren
Groenenbach
Mindelheim
Tuerkheim
The Memmingen City Court followed four years later.
In 1862 the government reformed this division and converted the courts into district offices.
The Mindelheim district office at that time consisted of the district town of Mindelheim and the market in Türkheim.
In 1939, under the National Socialists, the name "district" came up nationwide.
The districts of Memmingen and Mindelheim emerged on the area of what is now Unterallgäu.
In 1972, the majority of the communities in these two districts became the new Mindelheim district.
The independent city of Memmingen has since formed its own sector.
In 1973 the name was changed and the district is still called Unterallgäu today.
The license plate of this Bavarian district has been MN since 1978.
As early as 1972, when the Mindelheim district was introduced, there was a debate about whether other labels would make more sense.
District Administrator Hans-Joachim Weirather brought up this suggestion again in the early 2000s, because the UA or UAL would have matched the names of the neighboring districts of Upper and Eastern Allgäu (OA and OAL).
But this request was rejected.
Unterallgäu - location and infrastructure of the Bavarian district
The district of Unterallgäu belongs to the administrative district of Swabia and is located in the extreme southwest of Bavaria.
It borders on the following neighboring districts:
in the north to Neu-Ulm, Günzburg and Augsburg
in the east to the Ostallgäu
in the south to the Oberallgäu
in the west to the districts of Biberach and Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg
The independent city of Memmingen forms another western boundary.
An important factor for the stable infrastructure of the district is the advantageous location and the well-developed traffic routes.
With its proximity to the A7 and A96 federal motorways, the Unterallgäu has important arteries for the transport of goods.
The Allgäu Airport in Memmingen as well as the Munich – Lindau and Ulm – Kempten railway lines offer further transport advantages.
This easy access to the region is a big plus for companies, commuters and tourists.
You can get to:
the Fugger city of Augsburg in the north
the Bavarian capital Munich in the west
the Lake Constance region in the east
the Bavarian foothills and the border region to Austria in the south
Unterallgäu - data and facts about the inhabitants
The Unterallgäu covers an area of around 1,230 square kilometers and has around 145,340 inhabitants.
That corresponds to about 118 inhabitants per square kilometer.
The inhabitants are spread over 52 municipalities, 2 cities, 38 municipalities and 12 markets in the district.
Unterallgäu: The cities in the district
The district of Unterallgäu has two cities with Mindelheim and Bad Wörishofen.
Mindelheim is the district town and has about 15,000 inhabitants.
The districts belong to the urban area:
Mindelheim
Gernstall
Heimenegg
Mindelau
Nassenbeuren
Oberauerbach
Unterauerbach
Westernach
Mindelheim is best known for Georg von Frundsberg, the father of the Landsknechte.
His headquarters, the Mindelburg, is a famous landmark of Mindelheim.
In his honor, the Frundsberg Festival has been held in Mindelheim every three years since 1853.
It is one of the largest historical festivals in Germany.
Bad Wörishofen is the origin of the water cures of the pastor Sebastian Kneipp, who worked here in the 19th century.
Today the place is a recognized Kneipp spa and is all about hydrotherapy and naturopathy.
Bad Wörishofen is also the largest city in the Unterallgäu district.
The urban area includes:
Bad Woerishofen
Dorschhausen
Church Village
Schöneschess
Harthenthal
Upper hard
Lower hard
Obergammenried
Untergammenried
Stockheim
Frankenhofen
Loops
Unterallgäu district - interesting facts about the economy
The economy in the Unterallgäu is mainly characterized by agriculture and the manufacturing industry.
The more than 2,100 farms are mainly active in milk production.
There are over 127,000 cattle in the stables of the Unterallgäu farmers, 62,000 of which are dairy cows.
This makes the Unterallgäu the largest milk producer in all of Bavaria.
One of the largest dairy farms is the Viehweidhof in Hausen near Mindelheim.
Over 1,000 cattle live in the modern loose stalls.
A number of milk processing companies also belong to this economic sector.
The largest employer in this area is the Ehrmann AG dairy in Oberschönegg.
Agriculture in the Unterallgäu district also includes:
approx. 560 chicken farmers
approx. 130 pig farmers
approx. 130 sheep farmers
The agriculturally used areas in the Unterallgäu are around 71,000 hectares, which corresponds to 58 percent of the total area of the district.
Unterallgäu district - industry
In the manufacturing industry, the district also has several important employers, above all the mechanical engineering company Grob-Werke GmbH & Co KG with headquarters in Mindelheim.
Other industrial locations in the Unterallgäu are:
the packaging machine manufacturer Multivagg Sepp Haggenmüller in Wolfertschwenden
pester pac automation GmbH in Wolfertschwenden
the Wanzl metal goods factory in Kirchheim
Salamander industrial products in Türkheim
Tricor Packaging & Logistic AG in Bad Wörishofen and Eppishausen
In addition to these companies, there are a large number of medium-sized companies and small businesses in the Unterallgäu.
The manufacturing and processing industry in the Unterallgäu also has the largest export share in all of Swabia.
Another strong pillar of the region is the handicraft with over 2,400 companies.
At 1.8 percent, Unterallgäu is one of the districts with the lowest unemployment in Bavaria and Germany.
Unterallgäu - politics and parties
The most important political body in the Unterallgäu district is the district council, which represents the interests of the district's citizens.
The Unterallgäu district council consists of the district administrator and 60 district councilors.
The district administrator in this group is predominantly made up of the Free Voters (FW) and the CSU.
The Free Voters are not a party, but an association.
These communities have been formed in Bavaria since the 1950s with the aim of offering citizens an alternative to the candidates of the political parties.
The free voters were initially represented in the Valais under the abbreviation FWV.
Today the short form FW is used.
Since the district was founded, the following people have taken on the office of district administrator:
Otto Weikmann
from 1972 to 1978 (FWV)
Hermann Haisch
from 1978 to 2006 (CSU)
Hans-Joachim Weirather
from 2006 to 2020 (FW)
The current district administrator has been Alex Eder (FW) since May 1, 2020.
It largely determines politics in the Unterallgäu.
As head of local government and the district office, he also represents the Free State of Bavaria and the federal government, for which he takes on numerous tasks such as consumer protection, vehicle registration and building supervision.
Unterallgäu district - sights around Mindelheim
Many sights and leisure activities in the Unterallgäu district are closely linked to the teachings of Sebastian Kneipp.
This is why the region is also known as Kneippland.
Destinations worth seeing are, for example:
the two Kneipp spas in Bad Wörishofen and Ottobeuren
the Bedernau natural thermal baths
the spa park in Bad Wörishofen with its barefoot path and the historic rose garden
the Mindelburg in
Mindelheim
the Irsee Monastery
the basilica in Ottobeuren
the Fugger Castle in Babenhausen
Hikers get their money's worth on the sections of the long-distance hiking trails.
In the district of Unterallgäu run:
the Jacobus pilgrimage route from Augsburg through the Kneipp region
the Crescentia pilgrimage route from Kaufbeuren via Mindelheim to Ottobeuren and back
the "Lueg ins Land" route from Türkheim in the direction of Augsburg and Wertingen
Other attractions in the Unterallgäu are the Skylinepark amusement park in Türkheim and numerous museums
how:
the farm museum in Illerbeuren
the nativity scene and the clock tower museum in Mindelheim
the Aviation Museum in Bad Wörishofen
The Unterallgäu is also a paradise for cyclists.
A well-developed network of trails enables exciting tours through the varied natural landscape.
