The village of Kurzell was probably founded around 900 AD. The oldest document that speaks of Kürzell and whose authenticity has been proven comes from the year 1136.
Interesting are the different ways of spelling the village name, which have been used over the centuries: Kyrtzell, Kürtzel, Kertzel, Kürzlen, Kirchzell, Kirczell, Kircelle and Kirchcelle.
The various documents show that originally monks of the Schuttern monastery built a church with one cell. The village came into being because other residents also settled there later. Also noteworthy is the fact that three villages were once located in a semicircle around Kurzell. The more than 400-year-old “Gypsy Linden tree” in the south-western district on today’s L75 was once the center of the village “Merolsweiler”. However, all three villages disappeared again around 1600.
Like the whole of southern Ortenau, Kurzell was initially under the rule of the Geroldseck family. Kurzell later came into the possession of the Count of Nassau. Due to numerous social grievances and oppression of the poor people by the authorities, there was a great peasant uprising in 1525. After only a short period of calm, a more than 200-year period of war suffering and waves of destruction followed, which made the Ortenau almost a desert.
Famine, epidemics and violence dragged the population away. In 1627, Kurzell had just 50 inhabitants. The material damage was immeasurable. At the end of the war, Kurzell still owned a single horse, which made farming the fields almost impossible. Hardly had the worst war wounds healed than bad years came again. The shortage of money grew and agriculture suffered considerable losses due to the flooding of the Rhine and Unditz. Hunger and misery reached unimaginable proportions in 1848. Forced sales of land at bargain prices were not uncommon. In short, the Pezacker, after all, an area of 45 ares, was sold for one fur, other properties changed hands for a loaf of bread.
Prosperity only gradually emerged, which was particularly evident in the construction of the school in 1876 and the town hall in 1901. After the war, the development of the Kurzeme was severely affected by the construction of the military airfield and the construction of the A5 motorway. Nevertheless, the Protestant church was rebuilt in 1962, the primary and secondary school in 1968, the multi-purpose hall in 1974 and later the Catholic kindergarten. In the course of the community reform, on January 1, 1972, Kurzell was incorporated into the community of Meißenheim. Attractive new development areas were created and brisk construction activity began. A strong local bond is noticeable among the population and the many associations give rise to a pronounced community life.