Frankenau

Frankenau (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁaŋkənaʊ] ) is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. Frankenau lies in the Kellerwald range southwest of the Talgang (566 m-high mountain). It is found on the southern edge of the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park on the upper reaches of the Lorfebach, a tributary to the Eder. Frankenau lies 10 km east of Frankenberg, and 33 km northeast of Marburg. Frankenau borders in the north on the municipality of Vöhl, in the east on the municipality of Edertal and the town of Bad Wildungen, in the south on the municipality of Haina, and in the west on the town of Frankenberg (all in Waldeck-Frankenberg). The town of Frankenau consists of the centres of Allendorf, Altenlotheim, Dainrode, Ellershausen and Louisendorf. Frankenau and its neighbouring town Frankenberg are believed to have come into being in Frankish times. The area was settled at one time by the Chatti. The actual place Frankenau was built as a border fortification against the Saxons. The town's founding is assumed to have taken place between 500 and 750, with town rights later being granted by Heinrich Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia, in 1242.