"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.