Teistungen is a municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in

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 ...

, Germany. Teistungen was first mentioned in 1090 as the site of Teistungenburg monastery, a filiation of Beuren monastery. The old monastery buildings were demolished in 1975. It is located in the historical Eichsfeld, formerly a remote exclave of the

Electorate 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 ...

in Central Germany. In 1283 the

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

was acquired by the knightly family ''von Hagen'' who resided in nearby ''Westernhagen Castle'' at

Berlingerode Berlingerode is a municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, 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, ...

(destroyed in 1525). The Westernhagen family built two

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

s here that were later replaced by manor houses. Between 1802 and 1807 the Eichsfeld became 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 Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

, then until 1945 of the Prussian Province of Saxony, thereafter it formed part of

East Germany 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 ...

. Since 1990 it is part of the state of

Museums

Teistungen is the location of the

Borderland Museum Eichsfeld The Borderland Museum Eichsfeld is a history museum located in Central Germany at the former inner-German border between East and West Germany. It deals with the Cold War in general and the German division in specific. The museum exhibitions ...

, a history museum dealing with the inner-German border and the German division. The indoor exhibition covers more than 1,000 squaremetres and is complemented by an outdoor area including a circular trail along the former Iron Curtain. As the museum exhibition is displayed not only in German, but also in English, it attracts tens of thousands visitors from all over the world every year.

References

Eichsfeld (district) {{Eichsfeld-geo-stub