Kirtorf () is a town in the northern

Vogelsbergkreis The Vogelsbergkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Schwalm-Eder, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Fulda, Main-Kinzig, Wetteraukreis, Gießen and Marburg-Biedenkopf. History The district was created in 1 ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. 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 The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

's tales.

Geography

The town lies at the top of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between the east-flowing Antrift and the west-flowing Gleen.

Neighbouring communities

Kirtorf borders in the north on the town of Neustadt (

Marburg-Biedenkopf Marburg-Biedenkopf is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Waldeck-Frankenberg, Schwalm-Eder, Vogelsbergkreis, Gießen, Lahn-Dill, Siegen-Wittgenstein. History The district was created in 1974 when th ...

), in the east on the community of

Antrifttal Antrifttal is a municipality in the Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Antrifttal lies, as its name suggests, in the valley (''Tal'') of a brook called the Antrift, a tributary to the Schwalm, between the Vogelsberg in the sou ...

, the town of

Alsfeld Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany. Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is in the center of Hesse and part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. It is well known for its well-preserved old ...

and the community of

Romrod Romrod is a small town in the Vogelsbergkreis in central Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Through the town flows the river Antrift. Neighbouring communities Romrod borders in the north on the town of Alsfeld, in the east on the community of S ...

, in the south on the community of Gemünden, and in the west on the town of

Homberg (Ohm) Homberg (Ohm) () is a town in the Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The officially recognized climatic spa of Homberg lies from 203 to 350 m above sea level in the valley of the Ohm, a tributary to the Lahn, some 19 km so ...

, and the town of

Stadtallendorf Stadtallendorf is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival. Geography Location Under the German system of ''Naturräume'', Stadta ...

(Marburg-Biedenkopf).

Constituent communities

Besides 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.

History

Kirtorf was mentioned in a document as ''Gleene'' in 917. Kirtorf was the seat of a ''Sendgericht'', a church court that tried cases of

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

and the like, under the

Bishopric of Mainz The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...

. This court included 40 places. From 1205, the town belonged to the

Abbey of Fulda The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...

, the Counts of Ziegenhain were the ''

Vögte During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' ( ≈ sheriffs) here and held jurisdiction in the ''Eußergericht'' court district until the 14th century. By 1366, the

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

s 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 In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

(built in 1559) was left standing and unscathed.

Amalgamations

All constituent communities named above were united as part of Hesse's municipal reforms in 1971.

Politics

Mayor is Andreas Fey, who is indeed a member of the SPD, but entered the election as an independent candidate and won against his challenger Karsten Jost with 51% of the vote. Honorary Mayor is Ulrich Künz. He was elected mayor of the city on March 11, 1977. He was from 11 March 1977 to 11 March 2019 mayor and thus the longest serving in Germany. On February 15, 2019, he was appointed mayor. The UWL / SPD faction voted in favor. Kirtorf's town council has 23 councillors. As of municipal elections held on 6 March 2016 the seats are apportioned thus: Note: FWG and UWL are citizens' coalitions.

Coat of arms

Kirtorf's civic

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

shows the helmet and crest of the Counts of Hesse. The oldest example of the arms is in a seal dating from 1489. Some former versions of the town's arms have red as the background colour instead of blu

Town partnerships

Kilb Kilb is a town in the district of Melk in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography Kilb lies in the foothills of the Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, since 1983

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

* Museum Kirtorf

Buildings

* Historic

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

with town hall * ''Doktorhaus'' in Kirtorf * ''Schmerofen'' ("Leaf Fat Oven") near Kirtorf * Lehrbach

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

ruins * ''Schmitthof'' with the historic ''Waldmühle'' (forest mill) in Lehrbach * ''Kirschbrücke'' ("Cherry Bridge") in Lehrbach (built in 1541) * ''"Kirchenstumpf"'' ("Church Stump") in Lehrbach (remains of a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

from the time before

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

. This chapel was built by Irish-Scottish monks who – unlike Boniface – preached a

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

independent of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

.) * ''Nellenburg'' (castle) near Gleimenhain

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Through the town runs Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 62.

References

{{Authority control Vogelsbergkreis Grand Duchy of Hesse