Saalfeld
Saalfeld | |
---|---|
Location of Saalfeld within Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district | |
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt | |
Subdivisions | 23 |
Government | |
• Mayor (2018–24) | Steffen Kania[1] (CDU) |
Area | |
• Total | 145.56 km2 (56.20 sq mi) |
Elevation | 235 m (771 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 29,224 |
• Density | 200/km2 (520/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 07301–07318 |
Dialling codes | 03671 |
Vehicle registration | SLF |
Website | www.saalfeld.de |
Saalfeld (German: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin.
Geography
The town is situated in the valley of the
Saalfeld has 28,000 inhabitants. Together with neighbouring
The local mountain is the Kulm, which is 481.9 metres above sea level.
History
Saalfeld is one of the historic towns of Thuringia, possibly founded by the 7th century around a Thuringii (Gothic) fortress today called Hoher Schwarm or Sorbenburg (Sorbs' Castle).[3] The area was first mentioned in an 899 deed. Kitzerstein Castle standing on an eminence above the Saale River, was said to have been originally erected by the German King Henry the Fowler, although the present-day building was not built before the 16th century. In 1012 the last Ottonian emperor Henry II ceded the former Carolingian Kaiserpfalz to Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia, whose daughter Richeza bequested it to the Archbishops of Cologne.
According to the local chronicler
House of Wettin
In 1389 the town finally was acquired by Landgrave
However, already in 1485 Elector
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
After several blazes in the early 16th century, Saalfeld had been rebuilt in a lavish
The Castle, which has been renovated and is today the town administrative building, was home to four generations of the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld branch. Until 1825, Saalfeld remained one of two capitals of the duchy, together with Coburg, its Franconian sister town to the south. The 4th Duke Ernest Frederick (1724–1800) was the last to be born in Saalfeld; in 1764, he moved the capital from Saalfeld to Coburg, where in 1805 his son and heir Duke Francis (1750–1806) would buy Rosenau Castle as his residence.
Francis' children were linked to many of Europe's royal families: His daughter
During the time of Duke Ernest III in 1826, the neighbouring ducal line of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg became extinct. Ernest received the former Saxe-Gotha but in exchange had to give up Saalfeld in favour of his Ernestine cousin Duke Bernhard II of Saxe-Meiningen.
Modern times
On 10 October 1806 a united Prussian and Saxon contingent met with a corps of the French Grande Armée under Marshall Jean Lannes at the Battle of Saalfeld, whereby Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia was killed.[3] The opening of the Leipzig-Probstzella railway further boosted the town's development. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, Saalfeld became part of the newly established Free State of Thuringia. As a railway junction and garrison town of the Wehrmacht armed forces from 1936, it was strongly affected by strategic bombing during World War II.
Upon the post-World War II division of Germany, Saalfeld was an
In July 2018 the former municipalities of Saalfelder Höhe and Wittgendorf were merged into Saalfeld. The former municipalities Reichmannsdorf and Schmiedefeld were merged into Saalfeld in January 2019.
Economy
Traditionally, Saalfeld was known for its
Tourism and recreation-related activities make up a significant part of the local economy. Saalfeld is located in the mountainous forests of Thuringia, a province well known for its winter sports, supplying half of the gold medals for overall medal table winner Germany in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.[4]
Saalfeld is a popular base for hikers taking on the mountainous 168 km Rennsteig ridge, one of Germany's best known hiking trails.[5] The main sights of Saalfeld on OpenstreetMap.[6]
Twin towns – sister cities
Notable people
- Britta Bilač (born 1968), high jumper
- Hugo Eberlein (1887–1941), politician (SPD, USPD, KPD)
- Petra Felke (born 1959), track and field athlete, Olympic winner
- Karl Friedrich Geldner (1852–1929), professor of linguistic and noted Sanskrit scholar
- Wolfram Grandezka (born 1969), actor
- Jörg-Wolfgang Jahn (born 1936), violinist and music educator
- Johann Kirnberger (1721–1783), composer and royal music director, student of J. S. Bach
- Paul Oßwald (1905–1993), football manager
- Erasmus Reinhold (1511–1553), mathematician and the most influential astronomer
- Michael Schönheit (born in 1961), conductor and organist
- Heinrich Schulz (1893–1979), officer and political assassin
- Johann Semler(1725–1791), theologian and father of German rationalism
- Ror Wolf (1932–2020), artist, writer, and poet
See also
- The Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes (die Feengrotten), a subterranean tourist site near Saalfeld
Citations
- ^ Gewählte Bürgermeister - aktuelle Landesübersicht, Freistaat Thüringen, accessed 14 July 2021.
- Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik. June 2023.
- ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Wiemers, Holger. "Thüringen – Training Grounds for Olympic Athletes". State Development Corporation of Thuringia. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Destination Germany – Federal States – Thuringia – Nature". German National Tourist Board. Archived from the original on 2 September 2006.
- ^ "The main sights of Saalfeld on OpenstreetMap". landausblick.de. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ "Partnerstädte" (in German). Saalfeld/Saale. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
General and cited sources
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 953.
- Port, Andrew I. (2007). Conflict and Stability in the German Democratic Republic. Cambridge University Press.