Hi Don. There are two different Eberstadt, one being in the region called Rheingau, west of the capital of Hessen, Wiesbaden (former capital of the duchy of Nassau, whereof the Rheingau was a part). The other Eberstadt is close to Darmstadt, and today a part of Darmstadt indeed. The Eberstadt close to Wiesbaden (in the Rheingau) is very popular for its very old convent which was very rich in the later middle-ages. This convent, however, is not to be confused with the convent of Lorsch, which saw its florison in the early middleages during the period of the Carolingiens from about 800 until about 1000. Then it decayed and was finally taken over by the Archbishop of Mainz around 1236. Regards, Thierry ________________________________ Von: Don Watson <[email protected]> An: [email protected] Gesendet: Mittwoch, den 25. Februar 2009, 18:08:16 Uhr Betreff: [HESSE] Lorsch, near Eberstadt, Bensheim, et al "The town of Eberstadt, then called Eberstadt im Rheingau, is first mentioned in 782, when a certain Walther, along with his wife, Williswinde, gave their entire property to the Lorsch Convent." This is the first recorded entry of Eberstadt in the land of the Hesse, whose earliest recorded ancestors were probably the "Chatten," a Germanic folk in existence over 2,000 years ago. Eberstadt has since been absorbed by Darmstadt, a major city with the status of a county (Kreisfreie Stadt, pronounced Cryes-frya Stahdt). Kreisfreie means county-free. A Landkreis (lahnd-cryes) in Germany is roughly the same as a county in the United States, since it exists inside the larger federal administrative district, which in turn exists inside the State, and the State inside the Nation. There are 16 German states. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message