Ansbach

Ansbach (äns`bäkh), city (1994 pop. 39,155), capital of Middle Franconia, Bavaria, S Germany, on the Rezat River. A rail and road junction, Ansbach has diversified industries, including printing, metal, textile, and cardboard production. The city developed around an 8th-century Benedictine abbey. It became the residence of the Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern family in 1331. Ansbach passed to Prussia in 1791 and to Bavaria in 1806. Noteworthy buildings include the 12th-century Romanesque Church of St. Gumbertus, which was redone in baroque style in the 18th cent., and an 18th-century castle.