History
Mergentheim is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe, who early in the 13th century assigned the greater part of their estates in and around Mergentheim to the Teutonic order. In 1340 Mergentheim got Town privileges. It rapidly increased in fame, and became the most important of the eleven commanderies of that society. On the secularization of the Teutonic Order in Prussia in 1525, Mergentheim became the residence of the grand master, and remained so until the final dissolution of the order in 1809 by Napoleon.
Bad Mergentheim's fortunes were reversed in 1826, when a shepherd by the name of Franz Gehring discovered rich mineral springs in the surrounding area, during the time when spas were expanding in Germany at a rapid pace. The water turned out to be the strongest sodium-sulfate water in all of Europe, especially effective for the treatment of digestive disorders.
In the 1970s several neighbouring villages were incorporated during the "Gemeindereform".
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1660 | 1,064 |
| 1855 | 2,917 |
| 1900 | 4,372 |
| 1933 | 6,191 |
| 1945 | 9,300 |
| 1950 | 10,184 |
| 1961 | 11,608 |
| 1975 | 19,895 |
| 1990 | 21,567 |
| 2005 | 22,486 |
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