About Kreisbote

Kreisbote

The Kreisbote is the free weekly newspaper of the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland, published in eleven editions by the Kreisboten-Verlag Mühlfellner KG of Weilheim in Upper Bavaria. First published on 4 December 1964 by the founder Volkmar Mühlfellner, the paper is distributed free of charge to all households in its distribution area, with more than 755,000 copies weekly, making it one of the largest free weeklies in Germany. Since May 2023 the paper appears on Saturdays only, the Wednesday editions having been discontinued. The Kreisboten-Verlag belongs, like the Kurier-Verlag of Memmingen and the Rundschau-Verlag of Penzberg, to the Mediengruppe Münchner Merkur tz.

Overview

The Kreisbote appears weekly as a free advertising paper for the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland. As an Anzeigenblatt, it is distributed free of charge and comprehensively to the households of its defined area, financed mainly by display and classified advertising; by the definition of the Federal Association of Free Weekly Papers, such papers are press products distributed free of charge at least weekly to the households of a fixed area. With more than 755,000 copies distributed weekly across its eleven editions, the Kreisbote reaches practically every household in the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland, including the German-Austrian border regions of Tyrol. In Memmingen and Mindelheim no Kreisbote appears; there the Kurier serves the same function.

The readership of the Kreisbote is the population of the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland: the families of the Alpine foothills, the farmers and craftspeople, the tourism workers of the holiday region, the commuters of the Munich commuter belt's southern edge, and everyone interested in the week's local offers and events. The region's identity is shaped by the Alps, by the dairy farming and the cheese, by the tourism of the castles and the lakes, and by the Catholic and traditional culture of the Oberland. The paper's editorial mix is aimed at the everyday life of this region, and its advertising sections are the weekly shopping guide of the Allgäu.

History

The Kreisbote was founded on 4 December 1964 by Volkmar Mühlfellner, in the era when the free weekly papers were establishing themselves as the advertising medium of the German regions. The Kreisboten-Verlag Mühlfellner KG, headquartered in Weilheim in Upper Bavaria, developed the paper into the free weekly of the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland, with eleven editions covering the region from the Allgäu's towns to the Oberland's lake district and the Tyrolean border regions. The paper celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.

The publishing house belongs, like the Kurier-Verlag of Memmingen and the Rundschau-Verlag of Penzberg, to the Mediengruppe Münchner Merkur tz, the Munich media group behind the Münchner Merkur and the tz. In May 2023 the publication rhythm was reduced to Saturdays, the Wednesday editions being discontinued, reflecting the structural change in the advertising paper market. The managing director is Daniel Schöningh, and the publishing manager is Helmut Ernst. The Kreisbote continues as the free weekly of the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland, distributed to more than 755,000 households every Saturday.

Coverage and Content

The Kreisbote covers the local life of the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland with the editorial mix of the classic advertising paper. The district councils and the municipal administrations are reported on in compact form, as are the region's mayors and local politicians. The paper reports on the week's events in the holiday region: the cultural programme of the towns, the traditional festivals and the cattle drives, the tourism season in the Alps and on the lakes, the winter sports and the summer hiking, and the development of the region's infrastructure. The police and the emergency services are covered in brief.

The editorial section gives particular attention to service and consumer topics: building and housing, health and wellness, automotive, fashion, travel, pensions and investment, pharmacy and medical on-call services, cinema programmes and shopping tips, the classic departments of the German Anzeigenblatt, with an editorial share of typically 30 to 40 percent of the total page volume. The paper carries special supplements on seasonal themes, from the Christmas shopping season to the summer holidays, and its event listings and classified advertisements make it the marketplace of the Allgäu. The advertising sections, from the retailers' inserts to the real-estate and job markets, are the paper's economic foundation and its readers' weekly shopping guide.

The paper's Allgäu beat gives particular attention to the region's traditions: the Viehscheid cattle drives in autumn, when the decorated herds return from the Alpine pastures, are among the most photographed events of the year. The paper covers the tourism of the castles, above all Neuschwanstein, and of the Oberland's lakes, from the Starnberger See to the Forggensee, with the seasonal rhythm of the holiday region. The dairy farming and the cheese, the Allgäu's culinary identity, are recurring subjects, as are the winter sports in the Alps and the summer hiking. The paper's Tyrolean editions extend the coverage across the Austrian border, and in Memmingen and Mindelheim the Kurier-Verlag's Kurier serves the same household function within the media group. Like the other free weeklies of the Mediengruppe Münchner Merkur tz, the Kreisbote reports on the district councils and the mayors, on the volunteer fire services, and its event listings and classified advertisements make it the marketplace of the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland.

Organization and Ownership

The Kreisbote is published by the Kreisboten-Verlag Mühlfellner KG, headquartered in Weilheim in Upper Bavaria. The managing director is Daniel Schöningh, and the publishing manager is Helmut Ernst. The publishing house belongs, like the Kurier-Verlag of Memmingen and the Rundschau-Verlag of Penzberg, to the Mediengruppe Münchner Merkur tz, the Munich media group that also publishes the Münchner Merkur daily and the tz. The group's structure combines the daily newspapers' journalism with the free weeklies' household distribution, giving the group a comprehensive reach in the Bavarian media market.

The paper's eleven editions cover the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland, with the German-Austrian border regions of Tyrol included in the distribution area; in Memmingen and Mindelheim the Kurier-Verlag's Kurier serves the same function within the group. Financial details of the privately held publishing house are not publicly disclosed; the paper's economics rest on the display and classified advertising of the regional retail trade, carried free into more than 755,000 households every Saturday.

Digital Presence

The Kreisbote is present online at kreisbote.de, where the weekly's content is available digitally alongside the print editions. An e-paper is available, allowing the papers to be read online page for page, and the portal carries the week's local news, service tips and event listings, extending the weekly's Allgäu and Oberland reporting to readers on desktop and mobile devices. The paper's content circulates through the Mediengruppe Münchner Merkur tz's digital channels, reaching the readers who encounter the weekly primarily on mobile devices.

As a free weekly, the Kreisbote's digital offering is aimed at the broad household audience that the paper serves in print: the shoppers and event-goers of the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland encounter the paper's advertising and editorial content on the phone as well as in the letterbox. For the readers of the region, the digital Kreisbote is the online companion to the free Saturday weekly: the week's offers and events on the phone, the e-paper on the tablet, and the kreisbote.de portal as the continuous service for the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland between editions.