Kirtorf

Geschichte

Kirtorf is a town in the northern Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Through the town runs the Deutsche Märchenstraße, or German Fairytale Road, a touristic route joining many of the places commonly associated with the Brothers Grimm's tales.GeographyThe town lies at the top of the Rhine-Weser watershed between the east-flowing Antrift and the west-flowing Gleen.Neighbouring communitiesKirtorf borders in the north on the town of Neustadt (Marburg-Biedenkopf), in the east on the community of Antrifttal, the town of Alsfeld and the community of Romrod, in the south on the community of Gemünden, and in the west on the town of Homberg (Ohm), and the town of Stadtallendorf (Marburg-Biedenkopf).Constituent communitiesBesides the town's main centre, which bears the same name as the whole municipality, there are outlying centres named Arnshain, Gleimenhain, Heimertshausen, Lehrbach, Ober-Gleen and Wahlen.HistoryKirtorf was mentioned in a document as Gleene in 917. Kirtorf was the seat of a Sendgericht, a church court that tried cases of sin, vice and the like, under the Bishopric of Mainz. This court included 40 places. From 1205, the town belonged to the Abbey of Fulda, the Counts of Ziegenhain were the Vögte ( ≈ sheriffs) here and held jurisdiction in the Eußergericht court district until the 14th century. By 1366, the Landgraves of Hesse had come into ownership of some parts of the court district. Kirtorf's town rights were granted in 1489. On 1 April 1725, the town almost completely burnt down; only the town hall (built in 1559) was left standing and unscathed.