Gelnhausen

Gelnhausen
View of Gelnhausen with the Marienkirche
Coat of arms
Gelnhausen
Location of Gelnhausen within Main-Kinzig-Kreis district
Coordinates: 50°12′N 09°10′E / 50.200°N 9.167°E / 50.200; 9.167Coordinates: 50°12′N 09°10′E / 50.200°N 9.167°E / 50.200; 9.167
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Darmstadt
District	Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Thorsten Stolz (SPD)
Area
• Total	45.18 km2 (17.44 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	22,687
• Density	500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	63571
Dialling codes	06051
Vehicle registration	MKK, GN, SLÜ
Website	www.gelnhausen.de

Imperial City of Gelnhausen
Reichsstadt Gelnhausen
Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire
1170–1803
Capital		Gelnhausen
Government		Republic
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Founded by Frederick Barbarossa	1170
•	Pledged to Ld Hanau	1349–? 1170
•	Pledged to counties of Schwarzburg and Hohnstein	26 May 1349
•	Hohnstein share to Schwarzburg	22 July 1431
•	Schwarzburg sold to County of Hanau and Electorate of the Palatinate	26 May 1435
•	Hanau extinct; share to Lgvt Hesse-Kassel	28 March 1736
•	Palatinate share to Hesse-Kassel	1746 1803
•	Hesse-Kassel raised to electorate	1803
Preceded by Succeeded by Lordship of Hanau Lordship of Hanau County of Schwarzburg County of Hohnstein

Gelnhausen is a town and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig. It is one of the eleven towns (urban municipalities) in the district. Gelnhausen has around 22,000 inhabitants.

According to the Institut Géographique National from 1 January 2007 until July 2013 the geographic centre of the European Union was located on a wheat field outside the town.

Gelnhausen is located on the German Fairy Tale Route, a tourist route.

Gelnhausen was founded by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1170, it is therefore nicknamed "Barbarossastadt". The place was chosen because it was at the intersection of the Via Regia imperial road between Frankfurt and Leipzig and several other major trade routes. Frederick had three villages connected by streets and surrounded by a wall. At the same time Gelnhausen received town privileges and a Kaiserpfalz was erected on an island of the Kinzig river. The emperor also granted trade privileges like the staple right which forced traveling merchants to offer their goods in the town for three days.

Hence Gelnhausen initially was a thriving trade town and head of a league of 16 towns of the Wetterau region. However prosperity came to an end already in 1326 when Emperor Louis IV gave the town in pawn to the counts of Hanau, redeemed shortly afterwards. In 1349 Count Günther von Schwarzburg received Gelnhausen from Emperor Charles IV for renouncing his claims as elected King of the Romans, in condominium with the counts of Hohnstein, who sold their share to Schwarzburg in 1431. Schwarzburg was acquired in 1435 by Elector Palatine Louis III and the Hanau, since raised to a county.