The parish church of St. Martin dominates the cityscape of Kaufbeuren with its tower that can be seen from afar. The parish of St. Martin was first mentioned in written sources in 1308. Herrmann the Phaffe and Hainrich the Liutpriester of Burun, who were mentioned in 1240 and 1299 respectively, can both be considered the pastors of St. Martin. During excavations in 1978, the remains of four different apses were discovered in the choir of St. Martin, which date back to previous buildings. The oldest of the apse remains can be considered part of an early medieval royal court church, but the dating is not archaeologically certain. As an imperial court church, St. Martin was a fiscal church and was therefore only available to the royal administrators of the Franconian imperial court, which was founded around the middle of the 8th century. The patronage is to be seen in the context of Kaufbeuren's Carolingian period, as St. Martin is considered the house and court saint of the Frankish kings. (Source: Diocese of Augsburg)