The independent city is located west of Munich at the gateway to the Allgäu and impresses with its sweet old town with its magnificent buildings. It is considered one of the best-preserved towns in southern Germany. In the local dialect, it is also known as Maustadt, or moon town in High German, as there is a very special legend about the moon in the Allgäu night sky. But even beyond the firmament, there are many legends about this place, which was already inhabited in the Stone Age.
The legend of the Mau and its significance for the town
The moon is considered the city’s landmark and is known as the Mau in local dialect. The special significance of the celestial body goes back to an old legend, according to which three town councillors came out of the Golden Lion Inn drunk one night. On their way home, they passed a tub filled with water in which the moon was reflected. They came up with the idea of fishing the moon out of the tub so that it could shine over their town and provide light whenever they wanted it to. So they sent for the local fisherman to fetch the moon, or rather the Mau, from the tub. We don’t know whether he succeeded, as the legend ends before the dissolution. In any case, the town owes its nickname of Mau Town to this legend.
The Mau is so important to the city that after the first moon landing in 1969, the then mayor wrote a letter to NASA in which he jokingly criticized them for landing on the city’s moon without asking. To make amends, he suggested they could send some moon rocks for the city museum. And NASA replied! It didn’t have a lot of rock at the moment, but would be happy to send some to the city at a later date. To mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in 2019, the new mayor wrote another letter to NASA. However, the city has still not received any moon rocks.
But the Mau also plays a role in local festivals. A round cake with a moon face is baked for Children’s Day and Fishermen’s Day. On Children’s Day, there is also a parade at the end of which the Mau float, which is decorated with a large moon, is driven. Another of the town’s mouse specialties are small round chocolate coins with a moon face, wrapped in gold foil.
More legends
Apart from the Mau, there are many other legends surrounding places in the city. In Kalchstraße, for example, there is the “Haus zum Gaul in der Wiege”, so named because a horse in a cradle is depicted on its wall. Legend has it that grave robbers tried to steal the grave goods of a deceased woman. However, when they opened her grave, the woman, who was thought to be dead, sat up in amazement and eventually returned home. Her husband could not believe his eyes when he saw his wife standing in front of him and said that she was alive again, just as impossible as his horse being in the cradle. The two of them went to have a look and sure enough, the horse was in the cradle. So the man finally believed in the resurrection of his wife and they celebrated their reunion.
Another story revolves around the blue pillar on the market square, which the locals call the “blue Saul”. In this story, too, a drunken councillor was on his way home. When his companion heard the night watchman, she leaned the councillor against the pillar to prevent him from falling over while she distracted the night watchman. Once the maneuver was successful, she returned to the pillar with the alderman to pick him up. In the meantime, the pillar had turned as blue as the man leaning against it.
In addition to these, there are numerous other sagas and legends about Memmingen that are still told today. But the town also has a lot to offer beyond the legends if you would like to pay it a visit.
Sights in Memmingen
Memmingen has a beautiful old town, which is characterized by its colourful houses and picturesque stream. Due to its architecture, it is also known as the town of gates, gables and towers. It was largely spared from the Second World War, meaning that many buildings have been preserved in their original state. The market square is particularly worth seeing, where one picturesque house follows the next. The white town hall with its three towers and the pink guildhall are particularly pretty. The Christmas market also takes place on the square every year against the picturesque backdrop of the houses. The Gothic St. Martin’s Church and the Seven Roofs House are also worth a detour.
You can visit Memmingen on Fishermen’s Day or Children’s Day if you are interested in local traditions and the role of the mouse, or you can come to the Wallenstein Festival. The history festival, which has been held since 1980, is the largest of its kind in Europe and takes place every four years. At the festival, the stay of the commander-in-chief of the imperial forces Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Waldstein in Memmingen in 1630 during the Thirty Years’ War is re-enacted.
From Munich, it takes about an hour by train and 90 minutes by car to Memmingen. The May town is therefore perfect for a day trip and is a destination that is still underestimated by many Munich residents.