Stadt Kempten (Allgäu)

What Stadt Kempten (Allgäu) does

Stadt Kempten (Allgäu) is a Kreisfreie Stadt (independent city) and municipal government in Bavaria, Germany, claiming the status of Germany's oldest documented city through a reference by Greek geographer Strabon circa 63 BC to the Celtic settlement Kambodounon. The city serves approximately 70,000+ residents plus a regional catchment population of 500,000+, and operates as the economic and shopping hub of the Allgäu region with over 200,000 sqm of retail space and Bavaria's largest regional trade fair, the Allgäuer Festwoche. Municipal services are delivered through physical city service centers (Rathaus at Rathausplatz 22, BürgerService), a growing digital platform via kempten.de, the BayernApp e-government portal, and the interactive Geoportal, as well as through civic infrastructure including event venues (Kornhaus, Stadttheater, Allgäuhalle), the Cambomare leisure pool complex, schools, sports facilities, and 80+ playgrounds.

The city's core technology stack centers on the Smart City Kempten digital transformation program — a federally funded model project encompassing the Geoportal spatial data platform, camera-based Parkraummonitoring at Illerdamm, a mobile Makerspace bus for youth digital education, digital steles for the city center, and the Terminvereinbarung appointment booking system. Revenue is generated through municipal taxes (Grundsteuer, Gewerbesteuer, Zweitwohnungssteuer, Hundesteuer), user fees for services such as daycare, parking, building permits, and cultural venues, utility charges for water and wastewater, and operating subsidies plus project funding from the State of Bavaria and the federal government — particularly for infrastructure, climate protection, and Smart City initiatives. Distribution occurs through the Rathaus, specialized department offices, the digital BayernApp, event venues, and partner networks including City-Management Kempten e.V., the Fairtrade Town network, and the Nette Toilette program with 11 local restaurants. Customer segments span residents, tourists, businesses, families with children, and senior citizens, with no commercial pricing model applicable to the public-service mandate.

Name

Stadt Kempten (Allgäu)

Legal name

Stadt Kempten (Allgäu)

Website

https://kempten.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stadt Kempten (Allgäu) is an independent municipal government in Bavaria, Germany, serving approximately 70,000+ residents and a 500,000+ regional catchment with administrative, cultural, educational, and Smart City digital services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Government Services

NAICS

Executive Offices (92111), Other General Government Support (921190), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local Transportation, Parking & Mobility Administration (BPAIACAM), Parking & Curbside Management Authorities (Municipal Parking, Permits, Loading Zones) (BPAIALAL), Parks, Recreation & Protected Areas Administration (BPAIAMAH)

Keywords

• Municipal administration services
• Public sector governance
• Citizen services portal
• Smart city digitalisation
• Cultural event venues

Headquarters

HQ city

Kempten (Allgäu)

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Tax Revenue: The city generates primary revenue from local taxes including property tax (Grundsteuer), trade tax (Gewerbesteuer), and second home tax (Zweitwohnungssteuer). Dog tax (Hundesteuer) and parking fees also contribute.
2. User Fees and Charges: Fees for services such as daycare (Kindertagesstätten), cemetery services, building permits, parking, and cultural venues. Revenue from municipal utility charges (Wasserversorgung und Entwässerung).
3. State and Federal Transfers: Operating subsidies and project funding from the State of Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern) and federal government, particularly for infrastructure, climate protection, and Smart City projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Stadt Kempten (Allgäu) is a municipal government providing public administration and civic services to its roughly 70,000 residents and the broader Allgäu region of 500,000+ people. Its core offerings encompass administrative services (registrations, permits, citizen service), cultural and recreational facilities (Cambomare leisure pool, Kornhaus/Allgäuhalle event venues, Stadtbibliothek library, Allgäuer Festwoche festival), educational and youth infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, Jugendhaus), social services (senior care, integration, addiction support), urban planning and economic development, and Smart City digital services (Geoportal, appointment booking, digital library Onleihe 3.0, parking monitoring).

Product overview

Stadt Kempten (Allgäu) is a municipal administration operating the official city portal kempten.de alongside a network of physical and digital civic products and services. The primary digital product is the Stadtportal (city portal), which serves as the citizen-facing gateway to all municipal offerings and integrates sub-products such as the Geoportal Kempten (interactive spatial data platform), Onleihe 3.0 (digital library lending), the appointment booking system (Terminvereinbarung), and the digital vacancy management tool. Civic facilities operated by the city include Cambomare (a leisure pool and sauna complex), the Jugendhaus with a maker workshop and a mobile Makerspace bus (part of the Smart City Kempten programme), the Kornhaus and Allgäuhalle event venues, the Stadtbibliothek Kempten, and the Altstadthaus senior centre. The city also delivers ongoing programmes including the annual Stadtradeln cycling campaign, the Allgäuer Festwoche cultural festival, the Kommunale Wärmeplanung digital heat planning tool, and the Smart City Kempten digital transformation initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Geoportal Kempten

Quantifiable outcome

• Stadtradeln 2026: 543,855 km cycled for climate protection
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City-Management Kempten e.V.coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 March 2025The city partners with City-Management Kempten e.V., the main city marketing organization that runs the Stadtfest, Familientag, and the Kemptner City Card digital voucher program. This partnership is central to the city's commercial district revitalization and tourism promotion.
• Bezirk Schwaben / Caritasverband / Bezirkskliniken SchwabencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 February 2025Kempten partnered with the Bezirk Schwaben district, Caritasverband für die Diözese Augsburg, and the Bezirkskliniken Schwaben to launch the 'Stärkung der Suchthilfe in Kempten' (Strengthening Addiction Support) project. The initiative includes a mobile counseling vehicle for addicts and enhanced youth addiction counseling services.
• QuiberonminorOthers · 14 November 2024Kempten maintains a city partnership with Quiberon, France. Regular exchanges include cultural events, youth programs, and municipal delegations. Partner cities engage in annual events and mutual visits under the city twinning program.
• Trient (Trento)minorOthers · 14 November 2024Kempten maintains a city partnership with Trient (Trento), Italy. Cultural exchange and mutual visits strengthen the European city twinning network.
• SligominorOthers · 14 November 2024Kempten maintains a city partnership with Sligo, Ireland, as part of its international twinning program to foster cross-cultural exchange and mutual learning.
• Bad DürkheimminorOthers · 14 November 2024Kempten maintains a city partnership with Bad Dürkheim, Germany. The partnership includes an annual patron wine and sekt (sparkling wine) exchange, with Riesling grapes from a vineyard dedicated to the city of Kempten near Bad Dürkheim.
• Freundschaftskreis PartnerstädteminorOthers · 14 November 2024The Freundschaftskreis Partnerstädte (Friendship Circle of Partner Cities) is the civic organization in Kempten that supports and coordinates city twinning activities and exchanges.
• City of Beijing/PekingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2024Beijing city administration officials visited Kempten in October 2024 to study Smart City projects, including the Zukunftslabor and Smart City model initiatives. This international knowledge exchange reflects Kempten's reputation in digital urban management.
• Bayerischer StädtetagminorOthers · 9 October 2024The Bayerische Städtetag (Bavarian Cities Association) held its 2024 conference in Kempten on the theme 'Altwerden in der Stadt' (Growing Old in the City), reflecting Kempten's role as a venue for inter-city policy dialogue.
• City Augsburg (Roman Bavaria Cooperation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 June 2024Kempten and Augsburg — as the two largest cities in the Swabia region — formed a strategic cooperation for joint research, promotion, and marketing of their shared Roman heritage. Kempten's Archaeological Park Cambodunum (APC) and Augsburg's Roman sites are promoted together to position the region as a Roman tourism destination.
• SopronminorOthers · 24 May 2024Kempten has a partnership with Sopron, Hungary. A 10-person delegation including city council members and Mayor Thomas Kiechle traveled to Sopron in May 2024 for a municipal exchange visit.
• Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 — Iceland DelegationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Kempten hosted Iceland's Special Olympics team as part of the Host Town Program — the largest municipal inclusion project in German history. City organized 4 days of activities including cultural events, city tours, and inclusive sports programming for the visiting athletes.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stadt Regensburg: Bavarian kreisfreie Stadt with Roman heritage (UNESCO), comparable Smart City digitization initiatives, and a similar dual identity as historic and digitally modernizing municipality.
• Stadt Rosenheim: Upper-Bavarian kreisfreie Stadt of ~64k residents; similar size, similar regional-hub function in Upper Bavaria, and overlapping catchment dynamics with the Allgäu.
• Stadt Konstanz: South German kreisfreie Stadt of ~85k residents in the Allgäu/Bodensee region with comparable tourism and shopping-catchment function; relevant twin to Kempten for visitor-economy comparisons.
• Stadt Bamberg: Bavarian kreisfreie Stadt of similar size (~77k residents) with UNESCO-listed heritage and comparable mid-sized-city governance profile; runs analogous Smart City, cultural, and tourism programs in Upper Franconia.
• Stadt Bayreuth: Bavarian kreisfreie Stadt with ~75k residents and similar municipal administrative scale; comparable regional cultural-economy profile (Festspielstadt) to Kempten's Festwoche-anchored economy.
• Stadt Trier: Germany's other claimant to 'oldest city' status with Roman heritage and ~110k residents; the most direct competitor for Kempten's heritage-tourism narrative and Smart City modernization story.
• Stadt Landshut: Bavarian kreisfreie Stadt of ~73k residents; nearly identical population scale to Kempten and similar mix of historic Altstadt, regional retail catchment, and mid-sized municipal operations.
• Stadt Aschaffenburg: Bavarian kreisfreie Stadt of ~71k residents; near-identical population to Kempten, providing a tight demographic and budget comparability benchmark for mid-sized German Städte.

Broad incumbents

• Stadt Augsburg: Larger Bavarian partner city (~300k) that Kempten cooperates with on joint Roman-heritage tourism; broader portfolio of services and larger budget make it a scaled-up incumbent rather than a direct equal.

Others

• Bundesverband Smart City: German industry association coordinating the Modellprojekte Smart Cities programme of which Kempten is a participant; relevant ecosystem peer for the Smart City governance track rather than a direct municipal competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/KemptenAllgaeu
• Facebookfacebook.com/Kempten.Allgaeu
• Instagraminstagram.com/kempten_rathaus/?hl=de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stadt-kempten-allg%C3%A4u

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stadt Kempten (Allgäu)