The settlement is situated in the northern Harz foothills, south of the Großes Bruch lowland, at the northeastern rim of the Großer Fallstein heights.

Located about 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Halberstadt, about half-way on the road to Wolfenbüttel, it borders on Winnigstedt-Mattierzoll, Lower Saxony in the north.

Possibly named after a local chieftain during the Saxon Wars of Charlemagne, a water manor house at the site was first mentioned in an 1129 deed.

Temporarily held by the comital House of Regenstein from 1330 onwards, it was rebuilt as a castle named Schloss Hessen (de), while the surrounding village arose in the 14th century.

During the Thirty Years' War, the village was plundered by both Imperial troops under Count Gottfried Heinrich zu Pappenheim in 1628 and Swedish forces in 1641.