KAUFBEUREN  , a

town in the kingdom of Bavaria, on the Wertach, 55 M . S.W. of Munich by rail . Pop . (1905), 8955 . Kaufbeuren is still surrounded by its medieval walls and presents a picturesque appearance . It has a handsome town hall with fine paintings, an old tower (the Hexenturm, or witches' tower), a museum and various educational institutions . The most interesting of the ecclesiastical buildings is the chapel of St Blasius, which was restored in 1896 . The chief industries are cotton spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing, printing, machine building and lithography, and there is an active trade in wine, beer and cheese . Kaufbeuren is said to have been founded in 842, and is first mentioned in chronicles of the year 1126 . It appears to have become a free imperial city about 1288, retaining the dignity until 1803, when it passed to Bavaria . It was formerly a resort of pilgrims, and Roman coins have been found in the vicinity . See F .

Stieve,

Die Reichsstadt Kaufbeurenund die bayrische Restaurationspolitik '(M unich, 187o); and Schroder, Geschichte der Steal und Katholischen Pfarrei Kaufbeuren (Augsburg, 1903) .