Kempten (Allgäu) is the largest town in Allgäu, a region in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. The population was ca 61,000 in 2006. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later overtaken by the Romans, who called the town Cambodunum. Archaeologists consider Kempten one of the oldest urban settlements in Germany.
After several ravages by the Magyars, Ulrich of Augsburg, bishop of Augsburg and also abbot of Kempten, began the rebuilding of the monastery and the city in 941. In 1213, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II declared the abbots members of the Reichstag and granted the abbot the right to bear the title of Duke. However in 1289, King Rudolf of Habsburg also granted special privileges to the urban settlement in the river valley, making it an Imperial City. In 1525 the last property rights of the abbots in the Imperial City were sold in the so-called “Great Purchase”, marking the start of the co-existence of two independent cities bearing the same name next to each other. More conflict arose after the Imperial City converted to Protestantism in direct opposition to the Catholic monastery (and Free City) in 1527.
The Kempten University of Applied Sciences started in the winter semester of 1978–79 with 89 students and since then expanded and now accommodates more than 2800 students in eight degree courses.
Kempten is well connected with the region through the A 7 autobahn (Würzburg–Ulm–Füssen). Bundesstraßen B 12 (partly as A 980 autobahn), B 19 and B 309 are also intersecting in Kempten. The city is on the Allgäu Railway, opened as part of the Ludwig South-North Railway in 1852, and Kempten station currently boasts good InterCity and EuroCity rail connections.
