Rudolstadt

Rudolstadt
Town
Coat of arms
Location of Rudolstadt within Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
Subdivisions	12
Government
• Mayor (2018–24)	Jörg Reichl[1]
Area
• Total	135.17 km2 (52.19 sq mi)
Elevation	195 m (640 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	24,749
• Density	180/km2 (470/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	07407
Dialling codes	03672
Vehicle registration	SLF, RU
Website	www.rudolstadt.de

Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, within the Thuringian Forest, to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north.

The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide valley surrounded by woods. Rudolstadt was founded in 776 and has had municipal law since 1326. The town's landmark is the Castle Heidecksburg which is enthroned on a hill above the old town. The former municipality Remda-Teichel was merged into Rudolstadt in January 2019.

Rudolstadt was once well known because of the Anchor Stone Blocks of the Toy Company Richter and porcelain factories, beginning with the establishment of the Volkstedt porcelain manufacture in 1762.

History

Early history

There is archeological evidence of a

The first documented mention of the place-name was in 776 as Rudolfestat (Rudolf's settlement) as a gift from Charlemagne to Hersfeld Abbey^[4]

After 1990

In 1994 the Neonazi and police-informant Tino Brandt (NPD) founded the Neonazi-Gang „Thüringer Heimatschutz“ (THS, Thuringian homeland protection) in Rudolstadt. The structure of 170 right-wing extremists was an SA-style street gang. The THS gave rise to the Nazi terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU), which murdered a total of ten people over a period of 10 years.^[5][6]

Historical population

Number of Inhabitants (from 1960 as of 31 December, unless otherwise indicated):

Data since 1994: Thuringian Statistical Office

¹ 29 October
² 31 August

Culture

Rudolstadt hosts Germany's biggest

Rudolstadt is twinned with Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland.^[8]

Since 2012 Rudolstadt hosts Getting tough race (German wiki), Europe's hardest obstacle race.

Economy

The headquarters of the EPC Group, a global engineering and construction company, are in Rudolstadt.

• 
  The so-called "Richtersche Villa" (Richters Mansion).
• 
  Rudolstadt Town Hall
• 
  Bobo 2006
• 
  Chemical Industry of East Germany

• Arthur Schopenhauer wrote his dissertation in Rudolstadt.
• Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom
• Tino Brandt (NPD), German Neonazi foundet Thüringer Heimatschutz in 1994 in Rudolstadt
• Christian Nikolaus Eberlein (1720–1788), historical painter
• Traugott Maximilian Eberwein, German composer, worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre
• Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, German composer and choirmaster in Rudolstadt
• Hans Fallada, German writer. He went to school in Rudolstadt, it was here that he killed his friend Hans Dietrich von Necker in a duel
• Ahasverus Fritsch, German poet and composer
• Simone Lange, German politician (SPD)
• Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre
• Niccolò Paganini, Italian composer, worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre
• Max Wandrer, Olympic gymnast, was born in Rudolstadt
• Charlotte von Lengefeld (1766–1826), wife of Schiller
• Richard Wagner, German composer, worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rudolstadt.

• Official website (in German)