Due to its proximity to the Allgäu region, Memmingen is often called the Gateway to the Allgäu ("Tor zum Allgäu"). The town motto is "Memmingen – Stadt mit Perspektiven" ("Memmingen – a town with perspectives"). In recent times it has been frequently referred to as "Memmingen – Stadt der Menschenrechte" (Memmingen – the town of human rights). This alludes to the Twelve Articles, considered to be the first written set of human rights in Europe, which were penned in Memmingen in 1525. Every four years there is the "Wallensteinfestspiel", with about 4,500 participants, the biggest historical reenactment in Europe. It commemorates the invasion of Wallenstein and his troops in 1630.