Duke Eric III pawned Geesthacht - as part of the Herrschaft of Bergedorf - to the Free City of Lübeck in 1370.In 1811, Geesthacht was annexed to the First French Empire as part of the Bouches de l'Elbe département, but the condominium was restored two years later.During the Weimar Republic, Geesthacht was a hotbed of radical leftist parties (USPD, KPD and SAPD) and acquired the nickname Little Moscow.At present, the city council is composed as follows: The current mayor of Geesthacht is Olaf Schulze of the SPD, who was elected on the 08/08/2021.It consists of an artificial lake 80m above the river, where the water is pumped up from, and 600 MWh storage for later use in generating electricity when demand is high.