Country Germany District Schmalkalden-Meiningen Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Population 20,405 (31 Dec 2008) Postal code 98574 | State Thuringia Elevation 295 m (968 ft) Postal codes 98574 Local time Friday 9:55 AM | |
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Weather 7°C, Wind NE at 21 km/h, 77% Humidity University FH Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences | ||
Places to see in schmalkalden germany
Schmalkalden ( [ʃmalˈkaldən]) is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwestern portion of Thuringia state in Germany. It is situated on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. As of 31 December 2010, the town had a population of 19,978.
Contents
- Places to see in schmalkalden germany
- Map of Schmalkalden Germany
- History
- Notable people
- International relations
- References
Map of Schmalkalden, Germany
History
First mentioned in an 874 deed, Smalcalta in the Frankish duchy of Thuringia received town privileges about 1180. When Landgrave Henry Raspe of Thuringia died without issue in 1247, it passed to the House of Henneberg-Schleusingen, while the major part of the landgraviate fell to the House of Wettin in Meissen. To secure their acquisition the Counts of Henneberg allied with the Landgraviate of Hesse, including the conclusion of an inheritance treaty. In 1360 they together with Landgrave Henry II of Hesse paid off Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg, son of Elisabeth of Henneberg.
In 1531 the town hall of Schmalkalden was the site of the establishment of the Schmalkaldic League by Protestant princes under the lead of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse, in order to protect religious and political interests within their domains. In 1537 the Smalcald Articles were drawn up by Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and other reformers.
When the Counts of Henneberg became extinct in 1583, their share was inherited by William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. William made the town a residence and had Wilhelmsburg Castle erected, finished in 1590. The Lordship of Schmalkalden remained an exclave of Hesse, from 1868 on it was part of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau until it was incorporated into the Province of Saxony in 1944 and in 1945 became part of the State of Thuringia.
The town sustained heavy bomb damage in World War II. From 1949 on, with Thuringia, it formed part of East Germany. After reunification it attained its present political configuration.
Notable people
International relations
Schmalkalden is twinned with: