Imagine living in a village that was once called Maentichingen. That is Merching for you. Today, we will explore this Bavarian municipality located between Augsburg and Munich.
Merching has a rich history dating back to ancient times. Around 2500 BC, the area saw its first settlers during the New Stone Age. Even the Romans left their mark. A Roman settlement was found near Steinach.
The name Merching comes from a Bavarian leader named Mandicho. In the 6th century, he founded a settlement called Maentichingen meaning “among Mandicho’s people”. For centuries, names like Mänching or Bayermänching were common.
The first written records of Merching date back to the 12th century. These records mention a local noble family “zu Mänching”. They also mention the ducal office, Officium Mänchingen, which included nine full-sized farms, six smaller farms, and the upper mill. The Augsburg Cathedral chapter owned the lower mill and some other farms. Sadly, the old castle has disappeared without a trace.
The Counts of Andechs also had holdings in Merching. In 1157, Count Heinrich von Andechs-Wolfratshausen donated part of his land in Maentichingen to the St. Ulrich and Afra Monastery in Augsburg. By 1391, the monastery owned four farms and a mill in Mänchingen.
In 1310, after Bavaria was split, the right to appoint the priest of St. Martin’s Church in Maentichingen went to Upper Bavaria. No one knows exactly when the original parish church was built. But it existed long before the Officium Mänchingen. Today, only the base of the tower with a Gothic vault and parts of the choir walls remain. St. Martin, the patron saint, suggests that the area was settled by Franks.
A devastating fire destroyed much of Merching. On October 6, 1704, the parish church was destroyed. The church was rebuilt in Baroque style between 1707 and 1737. The people suffered greatly during this time. From 1705 to 1714, officials from Mering asked the Bavarian Elector to reduce the population’s grain taxes because they were struggling with war, soldiers, looting, and arson.
The Ettal Monastery appointed priests for the church in Merching until 1746. From 1770 to 1802, when the church was secularized, the parish was run by monks from Ettal. Merching was part of the Munich tax office and the Friedberg district court.
French troops crossed the Lech River in 1796. During the Napoleonic Wars, Merching was plundered. Later, the population suffered from a livestock epidemic.
In 1806, the postal route from Augsburg to Munich opened. It followed what is now the B2 highway and passed through Merching. The local inn “Zur Post” housed 16 horses. But when the Augsburg-Munich railway opened in 1840 with a station in Mering, Merching was no longer a central stop.
The community we see today formed in 1818. It happened during administrative reforms in Bavaria. From 1978 to 1980, Merching was part of the administrative community of Mering. Merching is in Swabia and was part of the Friedberg district. Since the district reform on July 1, 1972, it has been part of the newly formed Augsburg-East district. Since May 1, 1973, this district has been officially called Aichach-Friedberg.
The municipalities of Hochdorf and Steinach near Mering were integrated into Merching on May 1, 1978. Merching is a place with a long history, from ancient settlements to modern times.