Michelstadt () in the Odenwald is a town in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in southern Hesse, Germany between Darmstadt and Heidelberg. It has a population of 28,629 people. Geography Location Michelstadt is the biggest town in the Odenwaldkreis and borders on the district seat of Erbach. Neighbouring municipalities Michelstadt borders in the north on the municipality of Brombachtal, the town of Bad König and the municipality of Lützelbach, in the east on the town of Klingenberg, the market municipalities of Laudenbach and Kleinheubach, the town of Miltenberg, the market municipality of Weilbach, the town of Amorbach and the market municipality of Kirchzell (all seven in Miltenberg district in Bavaria), in the south on the town of Erbach, and in the west on the municipalities of Mossautal and Reichelsheim. Constituent communities Michelstadt's Stadtteile, besides the main town, also called Michelstadt, are Rehbach, Steinbach, Steinbuch, Stockheim, Vielbrunn, Weiten-Gesäß and Würzberg. History The first documentary mention of Michelstadt is from 741, noted by Carloman, who was Charlemagne’s uncle and Mayor of the Palace.<ref>Dictionary of Literary Biography, volume 148, German Writers and Works of the Early Middle Ages: 800–1170, edited by James Hardin and Will Hasty, 1994, pp. 27–31.</ref> Michelstadt is one of the oldest settlements in the inner Odenwald. Its castle grew out of a Frankish baronial estate. This was built into a refuge for the local inhabitants. As a royal estate, Prince Carloman donated it in 741 to Saint Boniface’s pupil Burchard, the first Bishop of Würzburg. This donation was apparently meant for Bishop Burchard personally, for the Michelnstat area passed back to the Frankish Crown upon Burchard’s death in 791. In 815, the Michlinstat area was donated once again. In recognition of his great merit as confidant at Charlemagne’s court, Einhard acquired the main town and all land within two leagues (roughly 15 km) from Charlemagne’s son, Louis the Pious, as a freehold. Einhard also built the Einhardsbasilika. In 819, he bequeathed his Odenwald holdings to Lorsch Abbey and in so doing precisely defined the boundaries of the Mark Michelstadt. Upon Einhard’s death on 14 March 840, the monastery came into its inheritance. In the 17th century, the first houses outside the town wall were built. In 1773, a new town gate was built, called the Neutor (“New Gate”). In the 19th century, the gate towers were all torn down one after the other. In 1806, Michelstadt, as within the County of