Freigericht

Infobox German Location
Name = Freigericht
Art = Municipality
image_photo =
image_caption =
Wappen = Wappen von Freigericht.pngWappengröße = 351
lat_deg = 50 | lat_min = 08 | lat_sec = 30
lon_deg = 09 | lon_min = 07 | lon_sec = 40
Lageplan =
Lageplanbeschreibung =
Bundesland = Hesse
Regierungsbezirk = Darmstadt
Landkreis = Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Höhe = 200
Fläche = 33.42
Einwohner = 15017
Stand = 2006-06-30
pop_ref = [ [http://www.freigericht.de Population source] ]
PLZ = 63579
PLZ-alt = 6463
Vorwahl = 06055
Kfz = MKK
Gemeindeschlüssel = 06 4 35 009
NUTS = DE719
LOCODE = DE FRT
Gliederung = 5 villages
Straße = Bahnhofstraße 13
Website = [http://www.freigericht.de/ www.freigericht.de]
Bürgermeister = Joachim Lucas
Bürgermeistertitel = Bürgermeister
Partei = UWG
ruling_party1 = CDU
ruling_party2 = FDP

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.

Geography

Geographic position

Freigericht has an elevation of 140 to 371 m in a side valley of the Kinzig 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 Gelnhausen. 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 Hasselroth 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.

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), during a surprise ambush. As a reward, the Kaiser granted them with "free jurisdiction", hence the name "Freigericht".

References