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Thuringia (Thüringen)Germany's green heartlandReunited as a state after the German reunification, Thuringia has a new capital: Erfurt (217,000), which was founded in the eighth century and is proud to be called a "garden city". The old part of the city has an unusually large number of Patrician houses, churches and monasteries which make it a kind of architectural museum. In medieval times several Thuringian towns especially Erfurt, became rich through trade with a blue dyeing plant the woad. Geographical data:
The smallest of the new federal states, Thuringia is situated in the center of the reunited Germany, and is surrounded by Hesse, Lower Saxony Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Bavaria. The slim ridge of the Mittelgebirge with the Thuringian Forest characterizes the landscape. To the west, the Meininger Land rises up to the Rhon, and to the east, farmland spreads out in the Thuringian lowlands. Thuringia, part of Germany's geographic center characterized by diverse highlands, lively cities and romantic towns. The long stretch of the Thuringian forest, characterized by gently rolling hills, mountains and steep valleys. The forests are traversed by a famous hiking trail, the 104 miles long Rennsteig, running from the Werra in the west to the Saale river in the southeast. Where the Saale breaks through the Frankenwald, the "Forest of the Franks", a particularly romantic scene, enhanced by castles and palaces, bursts into view. At the foot of the mountains, important cities with magnificent buildings were founded. In the Wartburg, one of Germany's most famous castles, Martin Luther found refuge from persecution. In Weimar, Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Wieland lived and created literary masterpieces. There are many sights to delight the visitor in Weimar, the superbly restored city of the "German Classics". Erfurt, the city of flowers, boasts a large historic section where you will find a cathedral, and St. Severin's church, old residential buildings and the medieval "Kramerbrucke", or tradesmen's bridge, which is lined on both sides by old houses.
Size of region: 16,251 square kilometers. Historical data:The state of Thuringia has its early roots in a kingdom of the same name which existed from 400 to 531 between the Main and the Harz. After the Germanic Thuringians, the Saxons and the Francouians were alternately sovereigns of the region; in the 8th century, Christianization set in. During the Middle Ages, Thuringia was influenced by the dukes of the Ludovingian dynasty, whose reign commenced in 1130 and who also took over the palatinate duchy of Saxony in 1180. The main residence of the Ludovingians was the Wartburg above Eisenach, where the troubadours of the Middle Ages are said to have carried out their "war of the singers". Twice again the Wartburg was to be in the limelight. In 1521, Martin Luther translated the Bible into German at this spot, and in 1817 the castle was to become the symbol of the unity of Germany due to the students associations, who here organized the Wartburg festival, calling for a German nation state. Like Germany in general, the history of Thuringia was influenced in early times by territorial split-ups --ever since the Ludovingian dynasty became extinct. At first the Wettiners gained greater influence, but many regions soon were annexed by neighboring rulers. In the 19th century, there were sometimes more than 15 different miniature states with over a hundred territorial enclaves in Thuringia. In 1920, the state of Thuringia was formed out of the remaining mini-states--four Ernestinian Saxon duchies, the principalities Schwarzenburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen Reuss (Elder Line), and Reuss (Younger Line). Its capital was to be Weimar. It lost its independence after the National Socialists seized power, and, in the last weeks of the Second World War, it was occupied by American troops, but as of early 1945 it was ceded to the Soviets, according to the decisions made in Yalta. Regional reform in the GDR once again divided the state into Erfurt, Gera, and Suhl. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685, he died in Leipzig in 1750. Martin Luther hid in the nearby Wartburg in 1521/22. There he translated the New Testament into German - a major step in the development of modern written German. And at the same place in 1817 students called for a united Germany. Territorial fragmentation, culture and barbarity. Thuringia was particularly affected by Germany's much lamented territorial fragmentation. But culturally this proved to be a good thing since the rulers of even small territories were keen patrons of the arts. By far the most prominent among them was Duke Karl August of Saxony-Weimar (1757-1828). He brought to his court the romantic poet and translator of Shakespeare Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813), the poet and philologist Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803), and above a Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). Thus at that time, around 1800, Weimar was a capital of culture and not only of German culture. In this city Goethe produced some of his most famous works, including the final version of Faust. Weimar was also home to Friedrich Schiller from 1787 to 1789 and from 179 to 1805. There he wrote, among other works, his William Tell. Fran Liszt (1811-1886) composed and gave concerts there in the second half of the 19th century. Here the Bauhaus was founded in 1919, school of architecture which sought to overcome the divisions between art, handicraft and technology. TownsApolda, Bad Berka, Bad Sulza, Dornburg, Eisenach, Eisfeld, Erfurt, Kranichfeld, Milbitz, Oberweißbach, Rastenberg, Rudolstadt, Schleusingen, Stadtilm, Weimar, Zella-Mehlis Theaterplatz Weimar
Großherzog Carl August von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach geb: 3.9.1757 in Weimar gest: 14.6.1828Carl August hat, obwohl er nur ein kleines Herzogtum regierte, große Veränderungen bewirken können. Weimar entwickelte sich von einem bedeutungslosen Städtchen zu dem literarischen Zentrum Europas, die Jenaer Universität errang durch seine Förderung wieder Anerkennung, und als erster deutscher Fürst erließ Carl August 1816 in seinem Großherzogtum eine landständische Verfassung. Tabellen zur Geschichte ThüringensRegionalbücher über ThüringenBurgen und Schlösser in Thüringen3 Bücher von den Anfängen der Eisenbahn in Thüringen 1846-1882Thuringia online english version |