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

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

(which is called , 'lower Eichsfeld') and northwest of the state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

(, 'upper Eichsfeld') in the south of the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, 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'' der ...

mountains in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Until 1803 the Eichsfeld was for centuries part of the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), 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 hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

, 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

enclave in the predominantly

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

north of Germany. Following German partition in 1945, the

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

portion became

Landkreis In 13 German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the () or (). Most major cities in Germany are not part of any ''Kreis'', but instead combine the functions of a municipality and a ''K ...

Duderstadt Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen. It is the centre and the capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). It was once the private wealth of the Roman Catholic ar ...

. 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 bord ...

Geography

Today the greatest part of the Obereichsfeld makes up the Landkreis (district) Eichsfeld. Other parts belong to the district

Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Eichsfeld, Kyffhäuserkreis, Sömmerda, Gotha, Wartburgkreis and the district Werra-Meißner ...

. The Untereichsfeld, later Landkreis Duderstadt, was merged mostly with the Landkreis of

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) 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. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, while Lindau became part of

Katlenburg-Lindau Katlenburg-Lindau (; Eastphalian: ''Katelnborg-Lindau'') is a municipality in the Landkreis (district) of Northeim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km southeast of Northeim, and 20 km northeast of Göttingen. ...

which is now part of the Landkreis of

Northeim Northeim (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the Northeim (district), district of Northeim, with a population of 30,118 as of 31 December 2023. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in ...

. Cities in the Eichsfeld are

, Heiligenstadt,

Leinefelde-Worbis Leinefelde-Worbis () is a town in the district of Eichsfeld (district), Eichsfeld, in northwestern Thuringia, Germany. The town was formed on March 16, 2004, from the former independent towns Leinefelde and Worbis along with the municipalities ...

and

Dingelstädt Dingelstädt () is a town in the district of Eichsfeld (district), 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 Helm ...

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 The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German stem du ...

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 () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

within the Reichsstadt of

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a town in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's Central Germany (geography)#Geographical centre, geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen ...

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

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

successfully established the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

in Eichsfeld. The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

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 (, ) 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 peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

the

reestablished

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

, which was dissolved after the victory over

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

. From 1949 to 1990 the Obereichsfeld belonged to the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

. 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 (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

and the end of the

, the

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

was opened in the buildings of the former border crossing point

Worbis Leinefelde-Worbis () is a town in the district of Eichsfeld, in northwestern Thuringia, Germany. The town was formed on March 16, 2004, from the former independent towns Leinefelde and Worbis along with the municipalities of Breitenbach and Wi ...

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