History
In medieval times the Eichsfeld, which is larger than the district Eichsfeld, was property of the bishops of Mainz, although anything but close to that city.
Eichsfeld was the only region of Thuringia not to accept the Protestant Reformation, largely due to the efforts of the Archbishop of Mainz.
In 1801 the clerical states were dissolved, and Prussia gained the region, only to lose it again in the Napoleonic Wars. In the Congress of Vienna (1815) Prussia as well as the kingdom of Hanover raised claims for the Eichsfeld. The region was divided between both states. Although Hanover was annexed by Prussia in 1866, this border remained the boundary between two Prussian provinces, later between East and West Germany, and today between Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The present district was established in 1994 by merging the former districts of Worbis and Heiligenstadt.
Read more about this topic: Eichsfeld (district)
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