Freigericht

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Freigericht


Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Administrative region	Darmstadt
District	Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Population	15,048 source (30 June 2006)
Area	33.42 km²
Population density	450 /km²
Elevation	170 - 371 m
Coordinates	50°08′ N 09°07′ E
Postal code	63575-63579
Area code	06055
Licence plate code	MKK
Mayor	Manfred W. Franz (CDU)
Website	freigericht.de

Freigericht is a municipality 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.

1 Geography

[edit] Geography

[edit] Geographic position

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

[edit] Neighbouring towns

Freigericht borders the municipalties 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 municipalties of Mömbris and Geiselbach, as well as the uncorporated area of Geiselbach Forest.
Freigericht is located in the Rhine-Main area, between the cities of Hanau/ Hessen (20km distance) and Gelnhausen/ Hessen (8km distance). Major highway (Autobahn) junctions are located in Langenselbold/ Hessen (A66), Gelnhausen/ Hessen (A66) as well as in Alzenau/ Bavaria (A45).

[edit] Town divisions

Freigericht is divided into five villages, which have been independent until 1970.

Altenmittlau
Bernbach
Horbach
Neuses
Somborn

On 1 January 1970 the five villages voluntarily incorporated into a new municipalty named Freigericht. The name Freigericht (lit. Free Court) had been unofficially used for the villages for several centuries. The name Freigericht translates as "free court". According to legend, it states that farmers from the areas between the rivers Main and Kinzig stood and defended their Kaiser, Barbarossa, during a surprise ambush. As a reward, the Kaiser granted them with "free jurisdiction", hence the name "Freigericht".