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 ...

mountains in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. 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 t ...

, which is the cause of its current position as a

Catholic 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 ...

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 portion became

Landkreis In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

Duderstadt Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen. It is the center and capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). In earlier times it was the private wealth of the Roman Cat ...

. A few small transfers of territory between the American and Soviet zones of occupation took place in accordance with the

Wanfried Agreement The Wanfried Agreement (German: ''Wanfrieder Abkommen'') concerned a transfer of territory between the U.S. and Soviet occupation zones after World War II in Hesse, Germany, which took place after the determination of the main inner German bo ...

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 university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, while Lindau became part of Katlenburg-Lindau which is now part of the Landkreis of

Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document ...

. Cities in the Eichsfeld are

, Heiligenstadt, Leinefelde-Worbis and

Dingelstädt Dingelstädt is a town in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Unstrut, south of Leinefelde-Worbis and northwest of Mühlhausen. The former municipalities Helmsdorf, Kefferhausen, K ...

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 oppositi ...

within the Reichsstadt of

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 b ...

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 The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

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 batt ...

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, which was dissolved after the victory over

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

From 1949 to 1990 the Obereichsfeld belonged to the GDR. In this atheistic state the people preserved their Catholic roots, and church life stayed relatively intact. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the GDR, the Borderland Museum Eichsfeld was opened in the buildings of the former border crossing point

- 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