Ansbach, city, Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany. It lies on the Rezat River, southwest of Nürnberg. Ansbach originated around the Benedictine monastery of Onolzbach (founded 748) and was sold to a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern line (later margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth) in 1331. It passed to Prussia in 1791 and to Bavaria in 1806. Queen Caroline, consort of King George II of Great Britain (reigned 1727–60), was born there in 1683, and there is a memorial to Kaspar Hauser (a mysterious youth reputed to have been the hereditary prince of Baden), who died there in 1833.
A railway and road junction, Ansbach is the commercial and administrative centre for the Middle Franconia region. Manufactures include electronics and synthetic materials; food processing is also economically important. Notable buildings in Ansbach include the 12th-century Romanesque church of St. Gumbertus (which has been restored in the Baroque style) and the palace of the margraves (1713–32), with a fine park. The biennial International Bach Week at Ansbach begins in late July. Pop. (2003 est.) 40,708.