The Eichsfeld ( or ; English: ''Oak-field'') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

(which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld) and northwest of the state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

("Obereichsfeld" = upper Eichsfeld) in the south of the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

mountains in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Until 1803 the Eichsfeld was for centuries part of the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

, which is the cause of its current position as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

enclave in the predominantly

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

north of Germany. Following German partition in 1945, the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

portion became Landkreis Duderstadt. A few small transfers of territory between the American and Soviet zones of occupation took place in accordance with the Wanfried Agreement.

Geography

Today the greatest part of the Obereichsfeld makes up the Landkreis (district) Eichsfeld. Other parts belong to the district Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis. The Untereichsfeld, later Landkreis Duderstadt, was merged mostly with the Landkreis of

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

, while Lindau became part of Katlenburg-Lindau which is now part of the Landkreis of Northeim. Cities in the Eichsfeld are Duderstadt, Heiligenstadt, Leinefelde-Worbis and Dingelstädt.

History

The Eichsfeld was first mentioned in 897, and in 1022 the

listed its possessions in the region, which were increased up until 1573. The Ottonian Untereichsfeld became part of Eichsfeld after being part of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Grubenhagen between 1342 and 1434. During the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...

within the

Reichsstadt In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen. Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and ...

most of the monasteries, churches and castles were plundered and most of the Eichsfeld became Protestant. In 1575 the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

successfully established the Counter-Reformation in Eichsfeld. The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

reached Eichsfeld in 1622 and during the years following several armies (Swedish, Danish, Thuringian) plundered the region. According to the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pe ...

the

reestablished

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the area which was two thirds devastated and had lost 75% of its population. During the Napoleonic time Eichsfeld was part of the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day History of Germany, Germany. While formally independent, it was a ...

, which was dissolved after the victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig. Museumsgebäude

From 1949 to 1990 the Obereichsfeld belonged to the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. In this atheistic state the people preserved their Catholic roots, and church life stayed relatively intact. After the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of ...

and the end of the

, the Borderland Museum Eichsfeld was opened in the buildings of the former border crossing point Duderstadt- Worbis in the centre of the Eichsfeld region. It addresses the history of the GDR and the German division with focus on its meaning for the Eichsfeld region.

Politics

In consequence of the traditionalism in Eichsfeld, the percentage of voters for the CDU is significantly higher than in the surrounding area.

References

External links

The Eichsfeld tourism organization (HVE)
(German)

(German)
Eichsfeld Wiki
- Regiowiki for Eichsfeld (German / multilingual) {{Coord, 51, 19, 48, N, 10, 15, 00, E, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Regions of Thuringia no:Eichsfeld