Sömmerda
Sömmerda | |
---|---|
Town hall | |
Location of Sömmerda within Sömmerda district ![]() | |
Coordinates: 51°9′42″N 11°7′1″E / 51.16167°N 11.11694°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Thuringia |
District | Sömmerda |
Government | |
• Mayor (2018–24) | Ralf Hauboldt[1] (Left) |
Area | |
• Total | 87.60 km2 (33.82 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 140 m (460 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 130 m (430 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 19,156 |
• Density | 220/km2 (570/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 99601–99610 |
Dialling codes | 03634 |
Vehicle registration | SÖM |
Website | www.soemmerda.de |
Sömmerda is a town near Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany, on the Unstrut river. It is the capital of the district of Sömmerda.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Soemmerda_Stadtmauer.jpg/220px-Soemmerda_Stadtmauer.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Soemmerda_Dreyse_Muehle.jpg/170px-Soemmerda_Dreyse_Muehle.jpg)
Archeological digs in the area that is now Sömmerda, formerly Leubingen, have uncovered prominently buried human remains dating to around 2000 BCE. One such burial of an individual, dubbed the "king of Leubingen" is the
Sömmerda was first mentioned in official documents in 876 CE. It probably became a town in about 1350 but there are no existing records of the event. One town gate, dating from 1395, and six towers from the old town walls are still standing.
During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) Sömmerda was at the heart of military activity, and soldiers from both sides ransacked the town, halving the population.
In 1840,
In April 1921 the factory returned to arms production, going against the post-war regulations which banned it from producing fuses. From October 1922 the factory produced the total quantity of fuses allowed in
In September 1944
Today a special cemetery in Sömmerda contains graves and a memorial to the camp inmates, forced labourers and war prisoners.
On April 11, 1945, Americans arriving in Sömmerda found the Rheinmetall plant still untouched by bombs, but abandoned by its managers. Days later Thuringia was occupied by the Russians, who recommenced production by the next month, employing between 1,000 and 1,500 workers. Production went back to automotive parts until the 1950s when office machinery began to be produced. Later Rheinmetall-Borsig became today's Rheinmetall DeTec AG.
Following the Second World War, the Sömmerda factory then found itself in the newly formed East Germany, with development and production now continuing as a state-run enterprise, but using the pre-war Rheinmetall name and logo. In 1957, a group of young electronics engineers under the collective direction of Heinz Skolaude brought Volkseigener Betrieb Büromaschinenwerk Sömmerda into being and into the age of electronics. In 1960 the name was changed to "Supermetall" and then in 1962 to the "Soemtron" name, when they exhibited at the Leipzig trade Fair of that year an electronic Fakturierautomaten (Automatic Invoicing machine) - the model EFA 380. 1963 saw the next model the EFA 381 with magnetic core memory.
In July 2018 the former municipality of Schillingstedt was merged into Sömmerda.
Population development
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Source: Source of figures from 1994: Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik |
Transport links
Sömmerda station lies on the Sangerhausen–Erfurt railway.
Coat of arms
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Wappen_am_Rathaus_in_S%C3%B6mmerda.jpg/220px-Wappen_am_Rathaus_in_S%C3%B6mmerda.jpg)
The town coat of arms is a shield with the field divided horizontally; the upper field has a black eagle with a red tongue, looking to the right. The lower field is red with a silver six-spoked wheel.
International relations
Sömmerda is
References
- ^ Gewählte Bürgermeister - aktuelle Landesübersicht, Freistaat Thüringen, accessed 14 July 2021.
- Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik. June 2023.
External links
Media related to Sömmerda at Wikimedia Commons