Freigericht is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in
HesseHesse is a state of Germany with an area of and just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is nearby Frankfurt am Main.Hesse contributes the largest share to the Rhine Main Area....
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It is situated 15 km east of
HanauHanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main.-Districts :-History:Hanau was first mentioned in 1143 and became a city in 1303....
, close to the
Frankfurt Rhein-Main regionThe Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area is the second largest metropolitan region in Germany, with a total population exceeding 5.8 million...
at the foothills of the
SpessartThe 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.
Freigericht has an elevation of 140 to 371 m in a side valley of the
KinzigThe 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.
In the southern parts of the town several pre-historical cairns have been found.
Freigericht is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in
HesseHesse is a state of Germany with an area of and just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is nearby Frankfurt am Main.Hesse contributes the largest share to the Rhine Main Area....
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It is situated 15 km east of
HanauHanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main.-Districts :-History:Hanau was first mentioned in 1143 and became a city in 1303....
, close to the
Frankfurt Rhein-Main regionThe Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area is the second largest metropolitan region in Germany, with a total population exceeding 5.8 million...
at the foothills of the
SpessartThe 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
KinzigThe 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 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 is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany....
to the north,
LinsengerichtLinsengericht is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany....
to the east and Rodenbach to the west. South of Freigericht (already belonging to the Bavarian district of
AschaffenburgAschaffenburg 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
AlzenauAlzenau 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
MömbrisMömbris 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
GeiselbachGeiselbach 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 Barbarossa 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 1154, and finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155. He was crowned King of Burgundy at Arles on 30 June 1178...
, during a surprise ambush. As a reward, the Kaiser granted them with "free jurisdiction", hence the name "Freigericht".