Thuringia

Information about Thuringia

Freistaat Thüringen
Free State of Thuringia
FlagCoat of arms

Details
Location
Coordinates
Time zoneCET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
CountryGermany
NUTS RegionDEG
CapitalErfurt
Minister-PresidentDieter Althaus (CDU)
Governing partyCDU
Votes in Bundesrat4 (from 69)
Basic statistics
Area 0 km (0 sq mi)
Population2,313,000 
Please give "pop_date" in YYYY-MM-DD format , e. g. 2005-12-31
[1]
 - Density0 /km (0 /sq mi)
Other information
GDP/ Nominal€ 44.8 billion (2005)
Websitethueringen.de
The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen) is located in central Germany. It has an area of  km ( sq mi) and 2.33 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen Bundesländer (federal states). The capital is Erfurt.

Geography

Thuringia borders on (from the northwest and clockwise) the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Bavaria and Hesse. The ridges of the western Harz mountains divide the region from Lower Saxony on the north-west and eastern Harz similarly separates Thuringia from the state of Saxony-Anhalt to the north-east. To the south and southwest, the Thuringer Wald effectively separates the ancient region of Franconia, now the northern part of Bavaria from the rolling plains of most of Thuringia and the central Harz range extends southwards along the western side into northwest corner of the Thüringer Wald region making Thuringia a low land basin of rolling plains nearly surrounded by ancient somewhat-difficult mountains. To the west across the mountains and south is the drainage basin of the Rhine River.

The most conspicuous geographical feature of Thuringia is the Thuringian Forest (Thüringer Wald, or also Thuringerwald), a mountain chain in the southwest. The Werra river ("Werratal"), a tributary of the Weser River separates this mountain chain from the volcanic Rhön Mountains, which are partially in Thuringia, Bavaria and Hesse. In the northwest Thuringia includes a small part of the Harz mountains. The eastern part of Thuringia is generally a plain. The Saale river runs through these lowlands from south to north.

See also List of places in Thuringia.

Thuringia is divided into 17 districts (Landkreise):

Map of Thuringia showing the boundaries of the districts


  1. Altenburger Land
  2. Eichsfeld
  3. Gotha
  4. Greiz
  5. Hildburghausen
  6. Ilm-Kreis
  1. Kyffhäuserkreis
  2. Nordhausen
  3. Saale-Holzland
  4. Saale-Orla
  5. Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
  6. Schmalkalden-Meiningen
  1. Sömmerda
  2. Sonneberg
  3. Unstrut-Hainich
  4. Wartburgkreis
  5. Weimarer Land


Furthermore there are six urban districts:
  1. Erfurt
  2. Eisenach
  3. Gera
  4. Jena
  5. Suhl
  6. Weimar

Towns

Towns in Thuringia
positiontowninhabitantsdistrict
31 December 197031 December 200030 June 2005
1.Erfurt192.679200.564202.590independent city
2.Gera106.841112.835104.737independent city
3.Jena85.16999.893102.201independent city
4.Weimar63.98562.42564.361independent city
5.Gotha57.25648.37647.045Gotha
6.Eisenach50.05944.44243.858independent city
7.Nordhausen42.01845.63343.781Nordhausen
8.Suhl28.17748.02543.202independent city
9.Altenburg47.49741.29038.203Altenburger Land
10.Mühlhausen46.13538.69537.480Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis
11.Saalfeld31.04829.51128.148Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
12.Ilmenau19.63427.17626.713Ilm-Kreis
13.Arnstadt27.36827.22025.828Ilm-Kreis
14.Rudolstadt30.08727.52825.584Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
15.Apolda29.75425.89924.684Weimarer Land
16.Greiz39.42426.17724.007Greiz
17.Sonneberg29.81124.83723.928Sonneberg
18.Sondershausen22.19523.08821.718Kyffhäuserkreis
19.Meiningen24.87622.24021.642Schmalkalden-Meiningen
20.Sömmerda15.95921.97720.885Sömmerda
21.Leinefelde-Worbis
(formed on 16 March 2004)		4.315 (LF)
3.401 (WO)		15.056 (LF)
5.497 (WO)		20.816Eichsfeld
22.Bad Langensalza16.81319.91718.760Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis
23.Schmalkalden14.52718.55117.893Schmalkalden-Meiningen
24.Zeulenroda-Triebes
(formed on 1 March 2006)		13.549 (ZR)
4.790 (TR) 		14.600 (ZR)
4.230 (TR) 		17.702Greiz
25.Heiligenstadt12.46417.29117.175Eichsfeld
26.Bad Salzungen11.46617.08616.551Wartburgkreis
27.Pößneck19.54714.34113.592Saale-Orla-Kreis
28.Schmölln13.96813.19312.693Altenburger Land
29.Zella-Mehlis
(formed on 1 April 1919)		17.13613.03612.355Schmalkalden-Meiningen
30.Hildburghausen10.65212.46612.351Hildburghausen
31.Eisenberg13.85911.76411.489Saale-Holzland-Kreis
32.Waltershausen14.21911.72511.307Gotha

History

Herzogtum (Landgrafschaft) Thüringen
Duchy (Landgraviate) of Thuringia
Pagan kingdom, Frankish duchy,
then State of the Holy Roman Empire
450 – 1247 →
 
→
CapitalNot specified
GovernmentVassal }}
Historical eraMiddle Ages
 - Thuringian kingdom
    established		 
before 450
 - Frankish invasion;
    duchy established		 
632
 - Landgraviate established1130
 - Comital line extinct1247
 - War of the Thuringian
    Succession		 
1247–64
For the earlier history of the region, see .
Named after the Thuringian people who occupied it around 300 AD, Thuringia came under Frankish domination in the 6th century, forming a part (from 1130 a landgravate) of the subsequent Holy Roman Empire.

After the extinction of the reigning Ludowingian line of counts in 1247 and the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–64), the western half became independent under the name of Hesse, never to become a part of Thuringia again. Most of the remaining Thuringia came under the rule of the Wettin dynasty of the nearby Margravate of Meißen, the nucleus of the later duchy and kingdom of Saxony. With the division of the house of Wettin in 1485, Thuringia went to the senior Ernestine branch of the family, which subsequently subdivided the area into a number of smaller states, according to the Saxon tradition of dividing inheritance amongst male heirs. These were the Saxon Duchies, consisting, among others, of the states of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Jena, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, and Saxe-Gotha; Thuringia became merely a geographical concept.

Enlarge picture
Though having a New Testament theme, the landscape of a forest of pines in this 1504 painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder in fact depicts the mountain scenery of Thuringia
Thuringia generally accepted the Reformation. The Catholic faith was abolished as early as 1520; priests that remained loyal were driven away and churches and monasteries were largely destroyed, especially during the Peasants' War of 1525. In Mulhausen and elsewhere, the Anabaptists found many adherents. Thomas Munzer, the founder of this sect, was active in this city. Within the borders of Thuringia the Catholic faith was maintained only in the district called Eichsfeld, which was ruled by the Archbishop of Mainz, and to a small degree in the city and vicinity of Erfurt.

Within the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine organized in 1806, some reordering of territories began, confirmed at the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) with the creation of the German Confederation. The so-called Thuringian states within the German Empire were Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the two principalities of Reuß.

Enlarge picture
The state of Thuringia (red) upon its formation in 1920
In 1920, during the Weimar Republic that followed World War I, these small states merged into one state, called Thuringia; only Saxe-Coburg voted to join Bavaria instead. Weimar became the new capital of Thuringia.

According to the book Hitlers Bombe, a nuclear device was detonated here in March of 1945.

After July 1945, the state of Thuringia came under Soviet occupation, and was expanded to include parts of the Prussian Province of Saxony, such as the areas around Erfurt, Mühlhausen, and Nordhausen. Erfurt became the new capital of Thuringia.

In 1952, the German Democratic Republic dissolved its states, and created districts (Bezirke) instead. The three districts that shared the territory of Thuringia were based in Erfurt, Gera and Suhl.

The State of Thuringia was restored with slightly altered borders during Germany's reunification in 1990.

Politics

List of Minister-presidents of Thuringia

  1. 1920 - 1921: Arnold Paulssen (DDP)
  2. 1921 - 1923: August Frölich (SPD)
  3. 1924 - 1928: Richard Leutheußer (DVP)
  4. 1928 - 1929: Karl Riedel (DVP)
  5. 1929 : Arnold Paulssen (DDP)
  6. 1930 - 1932: Erwin Baum (Landbund)
  7. 1932 - 1933: Fritz Sauckel (NSDAP)
  8. 1933 - 1945: Willy Marschler (NSDAP)
  9. 1945: Hermann Brill (SPD)
  10. 1945 - 1947: Rudolf Paul (no party, then LDPD)
  11. 1947 - 1952: Werner Eggerath (SED)
  12. 1990 - 1992: Josef Duchac (CDU)
  13. 1992 - 2003: Bernhard Vogel (CDU)
  14. since 2003: Dieter Althaus (CDU)

June 13, 2004 state election

Party Party List votes Vote percentage Total Seats Seat percentage
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)434,08843.0%4551.1%
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)263,71726.1%2831.8%
Social Democratic Party (SPD)146,29714.5%1517.0%
Alliance '90/The Greens45,6494.5%00.0%
Free Democratic Party (FDP)36,4833.6%00.0%
Free Voters in Thuringia26,3022.6%00.0%
The Republicans19,7972.0%00.0%
National Democratic Party (NPD)15,6951.6%00.0%
All Others22,5492.2%00.0%
Totals 1,010,578 100.0% 88 100.0%
Enlarge picture
Seat results -- SPD in red, CDU in black, PDS in purple

Transportation

See also

External links

References

1. ^ State population. Portal of the Federal Statistics Office Germany. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.


 •  • [ e]
States of Germany during the Weimar Republic (1919–33)
StatesAnhalt
City-statesBremen
Until 1920Saxony: Altenburg, Coburg–Gotha, Meiningen, Weimar-Eisenach
Reu: Elder, Junior
Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen
Unofficial statesBavarian Soviet Republic
 •  • [ e]
States of Germany
coat of arms of the German state of Thuringia.

History

References

See also

  • Coat of arms of Prussia
  • Coat of arms of Germany



..... Click the link for more information.
geographic coordinate system enables every location on the earth to be specified by the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system aligned with the spin axis of the Earth.
..... Click the link for more information.
time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. Most adjacent time zones are exactly one hour apart, and by convention compute their local time as an offset from UTC (see also Greenwich Mean Time).
..... Click the link for more information.
Central European Time (CET) is one of the names of the time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in most European and some North African countries.

Its time offset is UTC+1. During daylight saving time CEST is used instead (UTC+2).
..... Click the link for more information.
Central European Summer Time (CEST) is one of the names of UTC+2 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European and some North African countries. During the winter, Central European Time (UTC+1) is used.
..... Click the link for more information.
UTC+1 is used in the following locations:
  • Central European Time
  • West Africa Time
  • Western European Summer Time*
  • British Summer Time*
  • Irish Summer Time*

..... Click the link for more information.
UTC+2 corresponds to the following time zones:
  • Eastern European Time
  • Egypt Standard Time
  • Central Africa Time
  • Israel Standard Time
  • South Africa Standard Time
  • Central European Summer Time
  • West Africa Summer Time

..... Click the link for more information.
country, state, and nation can have various meanings. Therefore, diverse lists of these entities are possible. Wikipedia offers the following lists:

..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (third stanza)
also called "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"
..... Click the link for more information.
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard was developed by the European Union, and thus only covers the member states of the EU in detail (see
..... Click the link for more information.
capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has a second meaning based on an alternative sense of "capital") is the center of government.
..... Click the link for more information.
Erfurt
Mariendom and the Severikirche
Coat of arms Location

..... Click the link for more information.
A minister-president (German: Ministerpräsident) is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, who presides over the council of ministers.
..... Click the link for more information.
Dieter Althaus (born in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Thuringia, on June 29, 1958) is a German politician (CDU).

Althaus was a teacher of Physics and Mathematics at the Polytechnical High School in Geismar, Thuringia, between 1983 and 1989, where he became deputy
..... Click the link for more information.
political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. Parties often espouse a certain ideology and vision, but may also represent a coalition among disparate interests.
..... Click the link for more information.
Deutscher Bundesrat
Federal Council of Germany

Type Upper House

President Harald Ringstorff, SPD
since 2006

Members 69
Political groups Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union
Social Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party
..... Click the link for more information.
Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. The term Surface area is the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an object.

Units

Units for measuring surface area include:
square metre = SI derived unit

..... Click the link for more information.
KM, Km, or km may stand for:
  • Kappa Mikey, a animated series broadcasted on Nicktoons Network.
  • Kilometre (km)
  • Kernel methods
  • Kettle Moraine High School
  • Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km)
  • Kuomintang (KMT

..... Click the link for more information.
square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
..... Click the link for more information.
population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
..... Click the link for more information.
date in a calendar is a reference to a particular day represented within a calendar system. The calendar date allows the specific day to be identified. The number of days between two dates may be calculated.
..... Click the link for more information.
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, humans in particular.

Biological population densities


..... Click the link for more information.
gross domestic product, or GDP, is one of the ways for measuring the size of its economy. The GDP of a country is defined as the total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time (usually a calendar year).
..... Click the link for more information.
A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN.
..... Click the link for more information.
German language (Deutsch, ] (help info ) ) is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (third stanza)
also called "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"
..... Click the link for more information.
Länder (singular Land). Since Land is the literal German word for "country", the term Bundesländer (federal states; singular Bundesland
..... Click the link for more information.
Erfurt
Mariendom and the Severikirche
Coat of arms Location

..... Click the link for more information.
Niedersachsen
Lower Saxony
Flag Coat of arms

Details
Location

Coordinates
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Country
..... Click the link for more information.
Sachsen-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Flag Coat of arms

Details
Location

Coordinates
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Country
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.