Kaufbeuren

Kaufbeuren is an independent town in the Regierungsbezirk of Swabia, Bavaria. The town is an enclave within the district of Ostallgäu.

Districts

Kaufbeuren consists of nine districts:

Kaufbeuren
Kaufbeuren-Neugablonz
Oberbeuren
Hirschzell
Kleinkemnat
Großkemnat
Märzisried
Ölmühlhang
Sankt Cosmas

Mayors

Stefan Bosse is the Lord Mayor of Kaufbeuren since November 2004. He was reelected in March 2014 with 57.48% of the votes and again in March 2020 with 54.5% of the votes.

Landmarks

Town hall
Crescentiakloster
Historical town with partially conserved historical town wall
St.-Martins-Kirche
Fünfknopfturm
Hexenturm
Pulverturm
Stadttheater Kaufbeuren

Museums

Stadtmuseum
Feuerwehrmuseum
Puppentheater-Museum
Isergebirgs-Museum

Notable people

Maria Crescentia Höss, nun, beatified 1900, canonised 2001
Sophie von La Roche, writer
Ludwig Ganghofer, writer
Rudolf Roessler, publisher and spy
Wilhelm Walcher, physicist
Hans Liebherr, master mason, inventor of the mobile tower crane and founder of the Liebherr
Hans Magnus Enzensberger, poet, writer and publisher
Walter Riester, politician, Secretary of State for Employment 1998–2002
Erich Weishaupt, ice hockey player
Dieter Hegen, ice hockey player
Alexander Sulzer, ice hockey player

Kaufbeuren Air Base

The Kaufbeuren Air Base was established as a Luftwaffe station in 1935. When seized by the United States Army in May 1945 at the end of World War II it was discovered to be the final location of Nazi Party's top secret FA signals intelligence and cryptanalytic agency. After serving as a U.S. airbase during the post-war period, the field was ultimately returned to the town on 16 December 1957, and today serves as a German Air Force training field.

Culture

The Tänzelfest is a festival, which takes place usually at the end of June. Children reenact the history of the town in traditional costume.

Sports

The town is known for their ice hockey team ESV Kaufbeuren. They currently play in DEL2, the second level of ice hockey in Germany. Kaufbeuren is also known for its soccer team which plays in the Bezirksliga South.

Twin towns – sister cities

Kaufbeuren is twinned with: