# Gelnhausen
**Gelnhausen**, officially the Barbarossastadt Gelnhausen, is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis in the German state of Hesse, on the right bank of the Kinzig river, founded in 1170 by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa as a [free imperial city](https://www.edgepedia.org/free-imperial-city).[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/) • [2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/) It lies on the great trade route linking Leipzig, Erfurt, Fulda, and [Frankfurt](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankfurt), and since 2005 it has been the county town of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, the county with the largest population in Hesse.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/) • [3](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/international/english-visitors/explore-the-city-on-your-own/a-walk-through-the-town.pdf?cid=lzt)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founding | 25 July 1170, town charter granted by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa[4](https://geschichtsverein-gelnhausen.de/startseite/gelnhausen-entdecken/stadtgeschichte-haupt/chronologie-von-gelnhausen/) |
| 1180 Reichstag | Imperial diet producing the "Gelnhausen Document", in which Barbarossa conducted proceedings against his cousin Henry the Lion[5](https://www.schloesser-hessen.de/en/kaiserpfalz-gelnhausen/geschichte) |
| Kaiserpfalz | Imperial palace on an island in the Kinzig; dendrochronology dates the start before 1170 and completion in 1180[6](https://www.persee.fr/doc/bulmo_0007-473x_2002_num_160_2_1116_t1_0206_0000_2) |
| Medieval peak | In 1241 the city ranked second in the imperial tax register, directly behind Frankfurt am Main[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/) |
| 1349 | King Charles IV pawned the town and pfalz to Günther von Schwarzburg[7](https://www.verlagdrkovac.de/978-3-8300-3415-5.htm) |
| Famous native | Baroque writer Johann Jacob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, author of *Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus*, born 1621/22 in the Schmidtgasse[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/) |
| Population | 23,401 inhabitants on 30 September 2026, over 45.15 km², about 518 per km²[8](https://www.statistikportal.de/de/gemeindeverzeichnis/06435010) |
## Foundation and the imperial palace
Before the town existed, a settlement is attested at Gelnhausen from 1133, and shortly before 1158 the Archbishop of Mainz acquired a castle of uncertain location in the area.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/) Barbarossa, elected king in 1152 and crowned emperor in 1155, founded a moated castle on an island in the Kinzig around 1169/70, conveniently placed on the Via Regia trade route, and combined three settlements, including one called "Geilenhusen", into a town.[5](https://www.schloesser-hessen.de/en/kaiserpfalz-gelnhausen/geschichte) The founding document of 1170 already calls the residence a *castrum*, and archaeological and dendrochronological study shows that work on the palace began in the early 1160s, before the town's foundation, and was completed around 1180.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/) • [6](https://www.persee.fr/doc/bulmo_0007-473x_2002_num_160_2_1116_t1_0206_0000_2)
The Kaiserpfalz occupied just under half of a Kinzig island, with its central court (Kernburg) in the east and a lower court (Vorburg) to the west that originally housed at least the burgrave and the forest inspector.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/) Of the palace, the Palas, the great residential building, and a remarkable gate-hall that carried a chapel above the entrance survive from the construction period; the chapel-over-the-gate arrangement is counted among the most interesting examples of its type.[6](https://www.persee.fr/doc/bulmo_0007-473x_2002_num_160_2_1116_t1_0206_0000_2) The town and castle were connected by a bridge and the Burgtor gate.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/)
## The 1180 Reichstag and the city's peak
In April 1180 Barbarossa held a major imperial diet at Gelnhausen, at which he conducted proceedings against his cousin [Henry the Lion](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-the-lion) and redistributed Henry's fiefs; the resulting "Gelnhausen Document" is the famous record of the event.[4](https://geschichtsverein-gelnhausen.de/startseite/gelnhausen-entdecken/stadtgeschichte-haupt/chronologie-von-gelnhausen/) • [5](https://www.schloesser-hessen.de/en/kaiserpfalz-gelnhausen/geschichte) From 1170 to 1296 numerous stays by kings and emperors are attested at Gelnhausen, which developed intensively during this period.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/)
The city's flowering came in its first two centuries after foundation.[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/) In 1226 the imperial cities of the Wetterau formed an early league of towns, and in 1241 the first evidence of a Jewish community in Gelnhausen appears; in the same year's imperial tax register the city ranked directly behind Frankfurt am Main, in second place.[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/) Unlike Frankfurt, however, Gelnhausen did not manage to preserve this position beyond the decline of the Staufer dynasty.[7](https://www.verlagdrkovac.de/978-3-8300-3415-5.htm) A first low point came in 1349, when the later Emperor Charles IV pawned the town and pfalz to Günther von Schwarzburg.[7](https://www.verlagdrkovac.de/978-3-8300-3415-5.htm) The main town wall, begun in the first half of the 14th century and finished in 1361, survives almost intact with its wall-walk, gates, and towers.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/)
## Later history
In 1502 the electors of the [Holy Roman Empire](https://www.edgepedia.org/holy-roman-empire) met in Gelnhausen for a Kurfürstentag, and in 1506 the historical Faust, later the protagonist of Goethe's work of the same name, spent a night in the town.[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/) After Martin Luther's theses of 1517, the [Reformation](https://www.edgepedia.org/reformation) reached the city: by 1543 Gelnhausen had become Lutheran and the Marienkirche became the Protestant parish church.[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/)
The [Thirty Years' War](https://www.edgepedia.org/thirty-years-war) struck the town hard. Johann Jacob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, born in the Schmidtgasse in 1621/22, witnessed the devastations of Gelnhausen during the war and described its destruction in drastic terms in his novel *Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus*.[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/) In 1866, during the "German War", Gelnhausen, as part of the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel, became part of the [Kingdom of Prussia](https://www.edgepedia.org/kingdom-of-prussia).[3](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/international/english-visitors/explore-the-city-on-your-own/a-walk-through-the-town.pdf?cid=lzt) In 1978 the city received the official surname "Barbarossastadt", and in 2005 it became the county town of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis.[3](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/international/english-visitors/explore-the-city-on-your-own/a-walk-through-the-town.pdf?cid=lzt) In 2022 a medieval festival marked the 850th anniversary of the town charter, having been delayed from 2020 because of the Covid pandemic.[3](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/international/english-visitors/explore-the-city-on-your-own/a-walk-through-the-town.pdf?cid=lzt)
## Buildings and sights
The Marienkirche, which with its towers characterizes the townscape, grew in several phases. A small single-naved church of 1151 received the present west tower, its four lower storeys, in 1170; the three-naved rebuilding dates from the end of the 12th century, and between 1220 and 1225 a Rhenish master changed the design again for the eastern parts, perhaps modeled on Notre-Dame in Dijon; he may be the Heinrich Vintgerhut whose name is carved on the lunette of the north transept portal.[2](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/) Around 1200 the city brought in master builders who knew the Gothic style that had arisen in France to erect this building, which still shapes the town.[1](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/)
Other notable buildings include the Catholic Peterskirche, begun around 1200;[4](https://geschichtsverein-gelnhausen.de/startseite/gelnhausen-entdecken/stadtgeschichte-haupt/chronologie-von-gelnhausen/) the Romanesque House of the 12th century, which served as an administrative building and town hall;[9](https://www.vvgn.info/en/themen/sehenswuerdigkeiten/kaiserpfalz/) the Witches' Tower, begun in the mid-15th century; the former synagogue; and the Inner Wooden Gate.[10](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/sehenswuerdigkeiten/) The old town preserves restored half-timbered houses alongside medieval architecture, and the former Burgmannensiedlung next to the palace was once an independent community called "Burg".[10](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/sehenswuerdigkeiten/) • [11](https://guideyourride.de/attractions/gelnhausen)
## The town today
Gelnhausen consists of six districts: Mitte, Hailer, Höchst, Haitz, Meerholz, and Roth.[12](https://www.gelnhausen.de/wirtschaft-handel-gewerbe/gewerbe/zahlen-daten-und-fakten/) The official municipal register records 23,401 inhabitants on 30 September 2026, on an area of 45.15 km², a density of 518 per km²; the town is classified as a Kreisstadt in the [Darmstadt](https://www.edgepedia.org/darmstadt) administrative region, with the postal code 63571.[8](https://www.statistikportal.de/de/gemeindeverzeichnis/06435010) The town markets itself on its transport links to the Rhine-Main region and its central position within it.[13](https://www.gelnhausen.de/wirtschaft-handel-gewerbe/?sds=1)
## References
1. [Stadtgeschichte, Stadt Gelnhausen](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/stadtgeschichte/)
2. [Gelnhausen, Enciclopedia dell' Arte Medievale (Treccani, 1995), T. Biller](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gelnhausen_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale%29/)
3. [A Walk Through the Town, Stadt Gelnhausen (English visitor brochure)](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/international/english-visitors/explore-the-city-on-your-own/a-walk-through-the-town.pdf?cid=lzt)
4. [Chronologie von Gelnhausen, Geschichtsverein Gelnhausen e. V.](https://geschichtsverein-gelnhausen.de/startseite/gelnhausen-entdecken/stadtgeschichte-haupt/chronologie-von-gelnhausen/)
5. [History, Imperial Pfalz of Gelnhausen, Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Hessen](https://www.schloesser-hessen.de/en/kaiserpfalz-gelnhausen/geschichte)
6. [Jean Mesqui, review of Thomas Biller, Kaiserpfalz Gelnhausen (2000), Bulletin Monumental 160-2 (2002), Persée](https://www.persee.fr/doc/bulmo_0007-473x_2002_num_160_2_1116_t1_0206_0000_2)
7. [Michael Zieg, Gelnhäuser Regesten – zur Geschichte der Reichsstadt in den Jahren 1170 bis 1400, Verlag Dr. Kovač (2008)](https://www.verlagdrkovac.de/978-3-8300-3415-5.htm)
8. [Gelnhausen, Barbarossastadt, Kreisstadt, Statistikportal.de Gemeindeverzeichnis 06435010](https://www.statistikportal.de/de/gemeindeverzeichnis/06435010)
9. [The Emperor's Palace, Digitaler Stadtrundgang Gelnhausen](https://www.vvgn.info/en/themen/sehenswuerdigkeiten/kaiserpfalz/)
10. [Sehenswürdigkeiten, Stadt Gelnhausen](https://www.gelnhausen.de/tourismus/gelnhausen-erleben/sehenswuerdigkeiten/)
11. [Things to Do in Gelnhausen, GuideYourRide](https://guideyourride.de/attractions/gelnhausen)
12. [Zahlen, Daten und Fakten, Stadt Gelnhausen](https://www.gelnhausen.de/wirtschaft-handel-gewerbe/gewerbe/zahlen-daten-und-fakten/)
13. [Wirtschaft, Handel & Gewerbe, Stadt Gelnhausen](https://www.gelnhausen.de/wirtschaft-handel-gewerbe/?sds=1)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Settlements and neighborhoods › Cities and towns › Cities, towns, and villages of Western, Northern, and Southern Europe › Municipalities of Germany › Cities in western Germany*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license