Freigericht | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Freigericht within Main-Kinzig-Kreis district  | |
 Location of Freigericht | |
  Freigericht  Freigericht | |
| Coordinates:50°08′30″N09°07′40″E / 50.14167°N 9.12778°E /50.14167; 9.12778 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Hesse |
| Admin. region | Darmstadt |
| District | Main-Kinzig-Kreis |
| Subdivisions | 5 villages |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2018–24) | Albrecht Eitz[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 33.42 km2 (12.90 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 200 m (660 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 14,782 |
| • Density | 442.3/km2 (1,146/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 63579 |
| Dialling codes | 06055 |
| Vehicle registration | MKK |
| Website | www.freigericht.de |
Freigericht is a municipality in theMain-Kinzig district, inHesse,Germany. It is situated 15 km east ofHanau, close to theFrankfurt Rhein-Main region at the foothills of theSpessart, 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 theKinzig river.
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 seatGelnhausen. Since the opening of Freigericht's local museum several attempts have been made to get the tooth back, none of which was successful.
Freigericht borders the municipalities ofHasselroth to the north,Linsengericht to the east andRodenbach to the west. South of Freigericht (already belonging to the Bavarian district ofAschaffenburg are the town ofAlzenau, the municipalities ofMömbris andGeiselbach, as well as the unincorporated area of Geiselbach Forest.
Freigericht is divided into five villages, which have been independent villages until 1970.
On 1 January 1970 the five villages voluntarily incorporated into a new municipality named Freigericht. The nameFreigericht (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 EmperorFrederick I (Barbarossa), during a surprise ambush. As a reward, the Kaiser granted them with "free jurisdiction", hence the name "Freigericht".
_Somborn_Rathaus_(01).jpg)
The town council consists of 37 members, all of which are elected for a five-year term.The CDU has been the leading party in Freigericht, although it has suffered severe losses in the recent elections.Independent groups, which have been strong prior to the incorporation of Freigericht, get a higher share.
| Parties and Groups | 2011 | 2006 | 2001 | 1997 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | ||
| CDU | Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands | 27,9 | 10 | 47,9 | 18 | 59,0 | 22 | 45,3 | 17 |
| SPD | Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands | 19,3 | 7 | 28,3 | 10 | 24,2 | 9 | 28,8 | 11 |
| FDP | Freie Demokratische Partei | 1,8 | 1 | 2,6 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| GRÜNE | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 13,3 | 5 | — | — | 7,6 | 3 | 8,9 | 3 |
| UWG | Unabhängige Wählergemeinschaft Freigericht | 22,9 | 8 | 21,3 | 8 | 9,2 | 3 | 17,0 | 6 |
| BfF | Bürger für Freigericht | 12,4 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Die Unbestechlichen | Die Unbestechlichen - Liste freier Bürger | 2,4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| total | 100,0 | 37 | 100,0 | 37 | 100,0 | 37 | 100,0 | 37 | |
| Turnout in % | 51,6 | 48,4 | 52,2 | 68,4 | |||||
Elections in 2016:
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
