Eichsfeld
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The Eichsfeld is a historical region in the southeast of Lower Saxony (which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld) and northwest of Thuringia ("Obereichsfeld" = upper Eichsfeld) in the south of the Harz mountains. Until 1803 the Eichsfeld was for centuries part of the Archbishopric of Mainz, which was the cause of its current position as a Catholic enclave in the predominantly protestant north of Germany.It remained almost exclusively Catholic after the reformation, when Eichsfeld found common faith and tradition the basis of its identity. 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.
Today the greatest part of the Obereichsfeld makes up the district Eichsfeld. Other parts belong to the district Unstrut-Hainich, the Untereichsfeld belongs to the district Göttingen.
Cities in the Eichsfeld are Duderstadt, Heiligenstadt, Leinefelde-Worbis and Dingelstädt.
Quod vide Wanfried agreement.
External links
- [Official Homepage]
- [eichsfeld.de District Eichsfeld Homepage]
- [history and map of the Eichsfeld 1789]
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