Freigericht
Encyclopedia
Freigericht is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse
, Germany
. It is situated 15 km east of Hanau
, close to the Frankfurt Rhein-Main region at the foothills of the Spessart
, directly at the Hesse-Bavaria border. More than 40% of the area is forested.
river.
. Since the opening of Freigericht's local museum several attempts have been made to get the tooth back, none of which was successful.
to the north, Linsengericht
to the east and Rodenbach to the west. South of Freigericht (already belonging to the Bavarian district of Aschaffenburg
are the town of Alzenau
, the municipalities of Mömbris
and Geiselbach
, as well as the unincorporated area of Geiselbach Forest.
On 1 January 1970 the five villages voluntarily incorporated into a new municipality named Freigericht. The name Freigericht (lit. Free Court) had been unofficially used for the villages for several centuries. According to legend, it states that farmers from the areas between the rivers Main and Kinzig stood and defended their Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa)
, during a surprise ambush. As a reward, the Kaiser granted them with "free jurisdiction", hence the name "Freigericht".
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is situated 15 km east of Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
, close to the Frankfurt Rhein-Main region at the foothills of the Spessart
Spessart
The Spessart is a low mountain range in northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse, Germany. It is bordered on three sides by the Main River. The two most important towns located at the foot of the Spessart are Aschaffenburg and Würzburg....
, directly at the Hesse-Bavaria border. More than 40% of the area is forested.
Geographic position
Freigericht has an elevation of 140 to 371 m in a side valley of the KinzigKinzig (Main)
The Kinzig is a river in southern Hesse, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Main. It is 82 km long. Its source is in the Spessart hills, near Schlüchtern. The Kinzig flows into the Main in Hanau. The Main-Kinzig-Kreis was named after the river...
river.
Geology
In the southern parts of the town several pre-historical cairns have been found. On 19 June 1930 a tooth of a 40,000 year-old mammoth was discovered during building works in Somborn. It was transferred to the county seat GelnhausenGelnhausen
Gelnhausen is a town and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig...
. Since the opening of Freigericht's local museum several attempts have been made to get the tooth back, none of which was successful.
Neighbouring towns
Freigericht borders the municipalities of HasselrothHasselroth
Hasselroth is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany....
to the north, Linsengericht
Linsengericht
Linsengericht is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany.- Structure :Linsengericht consists of the districts Altenhaßlau, Eidengesäß, Geislitz , Großenhausen and Lützelhausen....
to the east and Rodenbach to the west. South of Freigericht (already belonging to the Bavarian district of Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (district)
Aschaffenburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Offenbach, Main-Kinzig , the districts Main-Spessart and Miltenberg, and the town of Aschaffenburg....
are the town of Alzenau
Alzenau
Alzenau is a town in the north of the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. The epithet “in Unterfranken” , now dropped, was to distinguish it from another Alzenau since 1945 no longer in Germany...
, the municipalities of Mömbris
Mömbris
Mömbris is a community – since 31 January 1964 a market community – in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. Mömbris is the district’s fifth biggest community and comprises all together 18 centres in an area of 35.92 km². The greater share ...
and Geiselbach
Geiselbach
Geiselbach is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Location:...
, as well as the unincorporated area of Geiselbach Forest.
Town divisions
Freigericht is divided into five villages, which have been independent villages until 1970.- Altenmittlau
- Bernbach
- Horbach (since 1968 styled a climatic spa)
- Neuses
- Somborn
On 1 January 1970 the five villages voluntarily incorporated into a new municipality named Freigericht. The name Freigericht (lit. Free Court) had been unofficially used for the villages for several centuries. According to legend, it states that farmers from the areas between the rivers Main and Kinzig stood and defended their Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa)
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, during a surprise ambush. As a reward, the Kaiser granted them with "free jurisdiction", hence the name "Freigericht".