The micromagnetic domain structure of MnAs films on GaAs(001) has been systematically investigated by micromagnetic imaging and simulations. The magnetic force microscopy (MFM) contrast resulting from the stray field of the simulated three-dimensional domain patterns was calculated and found to be in excellent agreement with MFM experiments. By combining three-dimensional stray-field imaging by MFM with surface sensitive probing and micromagnetic simulations, we were able to derive a consistent picture of the micromagnetic structure of MnAs. For example, the origin of the comblike contrast observed through MFM was identified as a metastable domain configuration exhibiting a cross-tie wall.