Dithmarschen
Dithmarschen
(dĭt`märshən), region, SW Schleswig-Holstein, N Germany, between the Elbe and Eider rivers. It is chiefly an agricultural region, with extensive cattle raising in the west. The eastern portion is a sandy upland. There are oil fields near HeideHeide, town (1994 pop. 20,740), Schleswig-Holstein, N central Germany, in the center of the Dithmarschen oil fields. A trade center, it has one of the largest market squares in Germany, with particular emphasis being on cattle trade.
..... Click the link for more information. . The region was conquered by Charlemagne, and its population was Christianized. Later in the Middle Ages it became a virtually independent peasant republic. In 1474, Emperor Frederick III incorporated Dithmarschen into Holstein and invested Christian I of Denmark with the fief, but the attempts of the Danish kings and nobles to take possession of the region were repulsed by the peasants until 1559. Dithmarschen passed to Prussia in 1867. The region is also called Ditmarsh.
Dithmarschen
a region between the North Sea, the Elbe River, and the Kiel Canal. Part of the Land of Schleswig-Holstein (Federal Republic of Germany). Area, 1,360 sq km. Dithmarschen was settled by the eastern Saxons in the early Middle Ages and by the Frisians in the beginning of the 13th century. Nominally a feudal dependency of the archbishopric of Bremen from the late 12th century, Dithmarschen gained de facto independence in the 13th century and became a kind of peasant republic comprising an aggregate of neighboring mark (village) communities. The peasantry of Dithmarschen retained personal freedom. In 1559 the region was conquered by Danish feudal lords. After the German-Danish War of 1863-64, Dithmarschen was ceded to Prussia.