Kemmern’s settlement history is very old and reaches far back into the first millennium BC, as shown by the origins of the "Helenenkapelle" (chapel) on the Semberg, which was a worshipping place as far back as Celtic times. In the Early Middle Ages, the border between the Germanic- and Slavic-settled areas ran through what is now known as Kemmern. Bearing witness to the Germanic-Frankish presence are the Germanic townsites – now forsaken – of Dertheim and Schiring. The earlier "Bürg" may have had Slavic beginnings as an important refuge and worshipping place for the Main Wends.