Mineralogy and Petrology (2001) 72: 185±207 Hornblende thermobarometry of granitoids from the Central Odenwald (Germany) and their implications for the geotectonic development of the Odenwald E. Stein 1 and C. Dietl 2 1 Institut fu Èr Mineralogie, TU Darmstadt, Federal Republic of Germany 2 Geologisch-Pala Èontologisches Institut, Universita Èt Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany With 6 Figures Received July 14, 1999; revised version accepted October 6, 2000 Summary The three major units of the Bergstra Èsser Odenwald (Frankenstein Complex, Flasergranitoid Zone and southern Bergstra Èsser Odenwald) are, according to literature, separated by two major shear zones. The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the importance of these sutures by comparing new hornblende geothermobarometry data from ®ve plutons of the Flasergranitoid Zone with published P-T data from the entire Bergstra Èsser Odenwald. Furthermore radiometric, geochemical and structural data from the literature were also used for this purpose. Temperatures were calculated with the amphibole-plagioclase thermometer and range from 600 to 800  C. Determinations of the intrusion depth, using the Al-in-hornblende barometer show that most plutons intruded at pressures ranging from about 4 to 6 kbar (13 to 20 km). These combined data do not allow to postulate a major suture zone between the Flasergranitoid Zone and the southern Bergstra Èsser Odenwald, while comparison of similar data from the Flaser- granitoid Zone and the Frankenstein Complex verify the importance of this shear zone. Moreover, our P-T data show that the high temperature ± low pressure metamorphism in the Bergstra Èsser Odenwald can also be interpreted as contact metamorphism and not necessarily as regional metamorphism. Zusammenfassung Hornblende-Thermobarometrie an Granitoiden des Mittleren Odenwaldes (Deutsch- land) und ihre Implikation fu Èr die geotektonische Entwicklung des Odenwaldes