Märstetten is a municipality in the district of Weinfelden in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Scattered finds from the Neolithic era, Roman ruins and a series of grave from the Early Middle Ages show that there was a continuous settlement in the area. In the High Middle Ages the Baron of Märstetten had a castle located above the church. The modern municipality of Märstetten is first mentioned in 1155 as Marsteten when the Cathedral of Constance granted it as a fief to the Freiherr von Klingen. The court of Märstetten included the village as well as Illhart and Wigoltingen. In 1724 a portion of Ruberbaum and some other farms were added to the court. In 1395 the court was acquired by Wilhelm von Enne, followed by the Muntprat family in 1419. This was followed by the Breitenlandenberg family in 1441, the Brümsi family in 1559, and Leonhart Zollikofer in 1585. The court remained with Leonhart's family until 1798. The appellate court for Märstetten was the Lord of Altenklingen, then after, 1460 the Governor of Thurgau and later the federal Tagsatzung. The village was responsible to pay tithes to the Cathedral of Constance. In 1613, the Cathedral canon, Salomon Buchhorner, had a new manor house () which administered the villages of Boltshausen, Illhart, Sonterswil, Märstetten, and Ottoberg. The church of St. Jakob, which was under the pilgrimage church of Einsiedeln, was originally the personal church of the Baron. After 1155 it belonged to the lands of the Cathedral of Constance. Between 1242 and 1487, the church was a branch of Wigoltingen. Without the consent of the governing church, St. Jakob's broke away from the parish in 1465. In 1482 Pope Sixtus IV issued a papal bull which granted the village the right to hire a lay priest. The Protestant Reformation prevailed in the village in 1529, though the Mass was permitted between 1594 and 1795. Until 1798 the parish included the so-called inner municipality of Märstetten, the outer municipality of Ottoberg and scattered farm houses. Starting in 1860, the citizens and residents gathered on St. Hilary's day (13 January) for the municipal, local and school community meeting, as well as the so-called Hilärimahl meal. Geography Märstetten has an area, , of . Of this area, or 67.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 19.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 11.8% is settled (buildings or