Eschwege

Eschwege is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany, and the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis. It lies on a broad plain of the river Werra at the foot of the Leuchtberg, northwest of the Schlierbachswald and east of the Hoher Meißner, roughly 52 km from Kassel and 55 km from Göttingen, more or less in the geographical centre of Germany. It was first documented in 974 as Eskinivvach, a name meaning a settlement near the ash trees at the water. Emperor Otto II bequeathed the royal court and settlement to his wife Theophanu, market rights were granted about 1188 and town rights followed by 1249. From 1264 the town belonged to Hesse, and in 1971 it hosted the eleventh Hessentag state festival.