H�xter (Latin Huxaria) in the time of Charlemagne was a villa regia, and was the scene of a battle between his forces and the Saxons. Under the protection of the monastery of Corvey it gradually increased in prosperity, and became the chief town of the principality of Corvey. Later it asserted its independence and joined the Hanseatic League. It suffered severely during the Thirty Years' War. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 it was united with Brunswick; in 1802 it passed to Nassau and in 1807 to the Kingdom of Westphalia, after the dismemberment of which, in 1814, it came into the possession of Prussia.
In 2005 an explosion within a house in the historic town centre damaged the town hall and many other significant buildings and resulted in three deaths. Work has started on the rebuilding of the damaged area but is expected to continue for many years.
Albaxen had its first documentary mention, under the name Albachtessen, on the occasion of the neighbouring Corvey Abbey's founding in 822, and by 900 it was already known by its current name. The Albaxen parish church was likewise first mentioned in the 9th century. The Tonenburg, a mediaeval building complex near Albaxen � not truly a castle as the name suggests � was built in 1350 by the Corvey Abbey.
In 854, L�chtringen was first mentioned under the name Lutringi (12 different spellings, including Luhtringi and Luchtringi) in the Corvey Abbey's annals and beginning in 1230 it belonged to the fourth archdeaconate of H�xter-Corvey of the Bishopric of Paderborn. Before it became Prussian in 1813, L�chtringen belonged to the Principality of Orange-Nassau in Fulda from 1803. In 1970, L�chtringen lost its independence and became a constituent community of H�xter.
L�chtringen is, among other things, North Rhine-Westphalia's easternmost community
