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129-626: The quarter was first mentioned in 1248 with the name of " Radoluestede ".The name refers to a foundation as a Saxon settlement by a man named Radolf, the suffix -stede denotes a location on safe ground. Rahlstedt was located on the eastern edge of the city of Hamburg , belonged to the Duchy of Holstein under the Danish crown and fell with it to Prussia in 1864. In 1927, the villages of Altrahlstedt, Neurahlstedt, Meiendorf and Oldenfelde as well as parts of Tonndorf-Lohe and Jenfeld were merged to form

258-404: A Modra niht or 'night of the mothers', another religious festival of unknown content. The Saxon freemen and servile class remained faithful to their original beliefs long after their nominal conversion to Christianity. Nursing a hatred of the upper class, which, with Frankish assistance, had marginalised them from political power, the lower classes (the plebeium vulgus or cives ) were

387-604: A Carolingian " stem duchy " in 804, in what is now northern Germany. The political history of these inland Saxons, who were neighbours of the Franks , is unclear until the 8th century and the conflict between their semi-legendary hero Widukind and the Frankish emperor Charlemagne . They do not appear to have been politically united until about that time. Previous Frankish rulers of Austrasia , both Merovingian and Carolingian , fought numerous campaigns against Saxons, both in

516-524: A loanword in English from Scottish Gaelic (older spelling: Sasunnach ), is the word Sassenach , used by Scots -, Scottish English- and Gaelic-speakers in the 21st century as a racially pejorative term for an English person and, traditionally, to the English-speaking lowlanders of Scotland. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives 1771 as the date of the earliest written use of

645-786: A German-ethnicity sovereign state , within what today comprises Germany, occurred in 1778 as the state flag of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz , a defunct principality in the modern state's borders. Some reordering of the Thuringian states occurred during the German Mediatisation from 1795 to 1814, and the territory was included within the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine organized in 1806. The 1815 Congress of Vienna confirmed these changes and

774-580: A Saxon force based in the east of Britain (Bede later believed in the Isle of Thanet ) were invited as foederati to Britain, in order to help defend against raids by Picts and Scots. They revolted over their pay and plundered the whole country, initiating a long war. By the time of Gildas in the 6th century the Romano-British had recovered control of at least part of the country, but were now divided into corrupt "tyrannies". There are very few records of

903-551: A church and made many friends among the nobility. Some of them rallied to save him from an angry mob at the annual council at Marklo (near river Weser, Bremen). Social tensions arose between the Christianity-sympathetic noblemen and the pagan lower castes, who were staunchly faithful to their traditional religion. Under Charlemagne, the Saxon Wars had as their chief object the conversion and integration of

1032-711: A minimum voting age of 21. Between 1920 and 1932, under the Weimar Republic , six Landtag elections were held. Thuringia was one of the states where the Nazi Party first gained real political power during the Weimar Republic. Wilhelm Frick was appointed Minister of the Interior in the state coalition government after the Nazi Party won six deputies to the Thuringian Landtag in

1161-521: A problem for Christian authorities as late as 836. The Translatio S. Liborii remarks on their obstinacy in pagan ritus et superstitio ('usage and superstition'). The conversion of the Saxons in England from their original Germanic religion to Christianity occurred in the early to late seventh century under the influence of the already converted Jutes of Kent . In the 630s, Birinus became

1290-408: A single kingdom. The Duchy of Saxony (804–1296) covered Westphalia, Eastphalia, Angria and Nordalbingia, which is roughly equivalent to Holstein, the southern part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein state, now bordering on Denmark. The Saxons were conquered by Charlemagne after a long series of annual campaigns, the Saxon Wars (772–804). With defeat came enforced baptism and conversion as well as

1419-447: A strong tendency from rural areas towards the big cities. From 2008 to 2012, there was a net migration from Thuringia to Erfurt of +6,700 persons (33 per 1000 inhabitants), +1,800 to Gera (19 per 1000), +1,400 to Jena (14 per 1000), +1,400 to Eisenach (33 per 1000) and +1,300 to Weimar (21 per 1000). Between Thuringia and the other German states, the balance is negative: In 2012, Thuringia lost 6,500 persons to other federal states,

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1548-501: A superabundance of pagan sites. Their king, Saeberht , was converted early and a diocese was established at London . Its first bishop, Mellitus , was expelled by Saeberht's heirs. The conversion of the East Saxons was completed under Cedd in the 650s and 660s. The continental Saxons were evangelised largely by English missionaries in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. Around 695, two early English missionaries, Hewald

1677-609: A synod of Mainz in 848 both declared that homilies ought to be preached in the vernacular. The earliest preserved text in the Saxon language is a baptismal vow from the late eighth or early ninth century; the vernacular was used extensively in an effort to Christianise the lowest castes of Saxon society. In the Celtic languages , the words designating English nationality derive from the Latin word Saxones . The most prominent example,

1806-538: A well-equipped winter sports destination – half of Germany's 136 Winter Olympic gold medals had been won by Thuringian athletes as of 2014. Thuringia was favoured by or was the birthplace of three key intellectuals and leaders in the arts: Johann Sebastian Bach , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , and Friedrich Schiller . The state has the University of Jena , the Ilmenau University of Technology ,

1935-504: Is temperate with humid westerly winds predominating. Increasingly as one moves from the north-west to the south-east, the climate shows continental features: winters can be cold for long periods, and summers can become warm. Dry periods are often recorded, especially within the Thuringian Basin, leeward to mountains in all directions. It is Germany's driest area, with annual precipitation of only 400 to 500 mm. Artern , in

2064-469: Is about 1.78% less. The current population is 2,120,237 (31 December 2020) with an annual rate of decrease of about 0.5%, which varies widely between the local regions. In 2012, 905,000 Thuringians lived in a municipality with more than 20,000 inhabitants, this is an urbanization rate of 42% which continues to rise. In July 2013, there were 41,000 non-Germans by citizenship living in Thuringia (1.9% of

2193-593: Is bordered by Bavaria , Hesse , Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , and Saxony . It has been known as "the green heart of Germany" ( das grüne Herz Deutschlands ) from the late 19th century due to its broad, dense forest. Most of Thuringia is in the Saale drainage basin , a left-bank tributary of the Elbe . Thuringia is home to the Rennsteig , Germany's best-known hiking trail . Its winter resort of Oberhof makes it

2322-624: Is correct. He notes that the loss of first letters occurs in numerous places in various copies of Ptolemy's work, and also that the manuscripts without Saxones are generally inferior overall. The first undisputed mentions of the Saxon name come from the late 4th century, around the time of emperor Julian . By about 400 the Notitia Dignitatum shows that the Romans had created several military commands specifically to defend against Saxon raiders. The Litus Saxonicum (' Saxon Shore '),

2451-483: Is disputed. According to this proposal, the original Saxon tribe lived north of the mouth of the Elbe , close to the probable homeland of the Angles . What is more certain is that long before any clear historical mention of Saxony as a country, a related but possibly distinct or overlapping group of "Saxons" became important during the late Roman Empire , when the name was used to refer to coastal raiders who attacked from

2580-551: Is forest with beech as its predominant species, as can still be found in the Hainich mountains today. In the uplands, a mixture of beech and spruce would be natural. However, most of the plains have been cleared and are in intensive agricultural use while most of the forests are planted with spruce and pine . Since 1990, Thuringia's forests have been managed aiming for a more natural and tough vegetation more resilient to climate change as well as diseases and vermin. In comparison to

2709-470: Is now Thuringia were the Sorbs proper , who unified all tribes in what is now southern half of Eastern Germany. The Ostsiedlung movement led to the assimilation of Slavic people between the 11th and the 13th century under German rule. The population growth increased during the 18th century and stayed high until World War I , before it slowed within the 20th century and changed to a decline since 1990. Since

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2838-478: Is presumed that these are the names of two goddesses who were worshipped around that season. The Saxons offered cakes to their gods in February ( Solmōnaþ ). There was a religious festival associated with the harvest, Halegmōnaþ ('holy month' or 'month of offerings', September). The Saxon calendar began on 25 December, and the months of December and January were called Yule (or Giuli ). They contained

2967-460: The edhilingui . The Lex Saxonum regulated the Saxons' different society. Intermarriage between the castes was forbidden by the Lex Saxonum, and wergilds were set based upon caste membership. The edhilingui were worth 1,440 solidi , or about 700 head of cattle, the highest wergild on the continent; the price of a bride was also very high. This was six times as much as that of

3096-592: The frilingi and eight times as much as the lazzi . The gulf between noble and ignoble was very large, but the difference between a freeman and an indentured labourer was small. According to the Vita Lebuini antiqua , an important source for early Saxon history, the Saxons held an annual council at Marklo (Westphalia) where they "confirmed their laws, gave judgment on outstanding cases, and determined by common counsel whether they would go to war or be in peace that year." All three castes participated in

3225-459: The edhilingui were the descendants of the Saxons who led the tribe out of Holstein and during the migrations of the sixth century. They were a conquering warrior elite. The frilingi represented the descendants of the amicii , auxiliarii and manumissi of that caste. The lazzi represented the descendants of the original inhabitants of the conquered territories, who were forced to make oaths of submission and pay tribute to

3354-718: The Bratwurst and the Forest , because a large amount of the territory is forested. Named after the Thuringii Germanic tribe who occupied it around AD 300, Thuringia came under Frankish domination in the 6th century. Thuringia became a landgraviate in 1130 AD. After the extinction of the reigning Ludowingian line of counts and landgraves in 1247 and the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264),

3483-544: The Anglo Saxons , or simply "the English". This brought together local Romano-British populations, Saxons, and other migrants from the same North Sea region, including Frisians , Jutes , and Angles . The Angles are the source of the term English which became the more commonly-used collective term. The term Anglo-Saxon , combining the names of the Angles and the Saxons, came into use by the eighth century, initially in

3612-566: The Evangelical Church in Central Germany or to the Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck ( Schmalkalden region). Catholic dioceses are Erfurt (most of Thuringia), Dresden-Meissen (eastern parts) and Fulda (Rhön around Geisa in the very west). Thuringia is a stronghold for the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the party emerged as the largest in Thuringia in the 2021 national elections . In 2017

3741-685: The German Democratic Republic in 1949, but was dissolved in 1952 during administrative reforms , and divided into the Districts of Erfurt , Suhl and Gera . Thuringia was re-established in 1990 following German reunification , slightly re-drawn, and became one of the new states of the Federal Republic of Germany. The name Thuringia or Thüringen derives from the Germanic tribe Thuringii , who emerged during

3870-851: The German Peasants' War of 1525. In Mühlhausen and elsewhere, the Anabaptists found many adherents. Thomas Müntzer , a leader of some non-peaceful groups of this sect, was active in this city. Within the borders of modern Thuringia the Roman Catholic faith only survived in the Eichsfeld district, which was ruled by the Archbishop of Mainz , and to a small degree in Erfurt and its immediate vicinity. The modern German black-red-gold tricolour flag's first appearance anywhere in

3999-612: The Germanic calendar in use at that time. The Germanic gods Woden , Frigg , Tiw and Thunor , who are attested to in every Germanic tradition, were worshipped in Wessex, Sussex and Essex. They are the only ones directly attested to, though the names of the third and fourth months (March and April) of the Old English calendar bear the names Hrēþmōnaþ and Ēosturmōnaþ , meaning 'month of Hretha ' and 'month of Ēostre '. It

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4128-640: The Goldene Aue , a fertile floodplain around Nordhausen with the Helme as most important river. The north-west includes the Eichsfeld , a hilly and sometimes forested region, where the Leine river emanates. The central and northern part of Thuringia is defined by the 3,000 km (1,200 sq mi) wide Thuringian Basin , a very fertile and flat area around the Unstrut river and completely surrounded by

4257-637: The Goldisthal Pumped Storage Station in the Thuringian Highlands. Thuringia is Germany's only state with no connection to navigable waterways. The geographic centre of the Federal Republic is in Thuringia, within the municipality of Vogtei next to Mühlhausen . The centre of Thuringia is eight kilometres south of the capital's Cathedral , in the municipality of Rockhausen . Thuringia's climate

4386-711: The Migration Period . Their origin is largely unknown. An older theory claims that they were successors of the Hermunduri , but later research rejected the idea. Other historians argue that the Thuringians were allies of the Huns , came to central Europe together with them, and lived before in what is Galicia today. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus first mentioned the Thuringii around 400; during that period,

4515-569: The Old Saxon language. Old Frisian apparently once stretched along the North Sea coast from the northern Netherlands to southern Denmark , while Old Saxon originally didn't extend to the coast. Linguists have noted that Old Frisian and Old Saxon, although neighbouring and related, did not form part of the same dialect continuum. In contrast, the Saxon dialects became part of the much larger Continental West Germanic continuum which stretched to

4644-731: The Rhine . They included Frisians , Angles and Jutes , who stretched from what is now the Netherlands to what is now Denmark, as well as coastal parts of the territory which came to be called Saxony. It has been proposed that these coastal Saxons and the later Saxons of Carolingian times should be seen as distinct but related peoples, who were referred to by the same name, such as the Dutch and Deutschen ( Germans ) today. Significant numbers of these early Saxons settled in what later became northern France and England. England, rather than Saxony,

4773-764: The Rhön Mountains around Geisa in the southwest. Protestant church membership is shrinking rapidly, whereas the Catholic Church is somewhat more stable because of Catholic migration from Poland, Southern Europe and West Germany. Other religions play no significant role in Thuringia. There are only a few thousand Muslims (largely migrants) and about 750 Jews (mostly migrants from Russia) living in Thuringia. Furthermore, there are some Orthodox communities of Eastern European migrants and some traditional Protestant Free churches in Thuringia without any societal influence. The Protestant parishes of Thuringia belong to

4902-461: The Saale into the area of a western Slavic tribe, the Sorbs . The Sorbs were gradually Germanised . This region subsequently acquired the name Saxony through political circumstances, though it was initially called the March of Meissen . The rulers of Meissen acquired control of the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg (only a remnant of the previous Duchy) in 1423; they eventually applied the name Saxony to

5031-725: The University of Erfurt , and the Bauhaus University of Weimar . The Frankish Duchy of Thuringia was established around 631 AD by King Dagobert I . The modern state was established in 1920 by the Weimar Republic through a merger of the Ernestine duchies , save for Saxe-Coburg . After World War II , Thuringia came under the Soviet occupation zone in Allied-occupied Germany , and its borders were reformed, to become contiguous . Thuringia became part of

5160-544: The Vogtland , a hilly but in most parts non-forested region in the south. The far eastern region (east of White Elster) is the Osterland or Altenburger Land along Pleiße river, a flat, fertile and densely settled agricultural area. There are two large rivers in Thuringia. The Saale , a tributary of the Elbe , with its tributaries the Unstrut , Ilm and White Elster, drains the most part of Thuringia. The Werra –

5289-595: The electoral threshold of 5%. The other two parties of the traffic light coalition in Berlin, Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), did not pass the threshold and lost all of their seats, which contributed to the break-up of that coalition on November 6th. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) recorded small gains and came second with 24%. The newly-founded Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance BSW debuted in third place at 16%. The AfD in Thuringia became

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5418-793: The " Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich " of 30 January 1934, which replaced the German federal system with a unitary state . Thuringia was the location of the Buchenwald concentration camp with multiple subcamps. After being controlled briefly by the US following the end of the Second World War , from July 1945 the state of Thuringia came under the Soviet occupation zone and was expanded to include parts of Prussian Saxony, such as

5547-466: The "apostle to the West Saxons" and converted Wessex , whose first Christian king was Cynegils . The West Saxons begin to emerge from obscurity only with their conversion to Christianity and keeping written records. The Gewisse , a West Saxon people, were especially resistant to Christianity; Birinus exercised more efforts against them and ultimately succeeded in conversion. In Wessex, a bishopric

5676-606: The 2011 Census results. Since the Protestant Reformation , the most prominent Christian denomination in Thuringia has been Lutheranism . During the GDR period, church membership was discouraged and has continued shrinking since the reunification in 1990. Today over two thirds of the population is non-religious. The Protestant Church in Germany has had the largest number of members in the state, adhered to by 20.8% of

5805-450: The 840s, when the Stellinga rose up against the Saxon leadership, who were allied with the Frankish emperor Lothair I . After the suppression of the Stellinga , in 851 Louis the German brought relics from Rome to Saxony to foster a devotion to the Roman Catholic Church . The Poeta Saxo , in his verse Annales of Charlemagne's reign (written between 888 and 891), laid an emphasis on his conquest of Saxony. He celebrated

5934-603: The Alps, and can all be considered to be types of German. According to the historical linguist Elmar Seebold , this development can only be explained if continental Saxon society prior to the migration to Britain was effectively composed of two related, but different forms of West Germanic. In his view, the group of people who, in the 3rd century , first migrated southwards to what is now the northwestern portion of Lower Saxony spoke North Sea Germanic dialects closely related to Old Frisian and Old English . There, these migrants encountered an already present population whose language

6063-405: The December 1929 election. In this position, he removed from the Thuringian police force anyone he suspected of being a republican and replaced them with men who were favourable towards the Nazis. He also ensured that, whenever an important position came up within Thuringia, a Nazi was given that post. Following the Nazi seizure of power in Berlin, the Landtag was formally abolished as a result of

6192-408: The English Saxons as either English or as Anglo-Saxons after this point, the term Saxon was still used to refer to them for some time, and can be a source of potential confusion when interpreting contemporary records. Ptolemy 's Geographia , written in the second century, is sometimes considered to contain the first mention of the Saxons. Some copies of this text mention a tribe called Saxones in

6321-485: The English people and England are Sowsnek and Pow Sows ('Land [Pays] of Saxons'). Similarly Breton , spoken in north-western France, has saoz(on) ('English'), saozneg ('the English language'), and Bro-saoz for 'England'. The label Saxons (in Romanian : Sași ) also became attached to German settlers who settled during the 12th century in southeastern Transylvania . From Transylvania, some of these Saxons migrated to neighbouring Moldavia , as

6450-430: The Fowler, 919) and later the first emperors (Henry's son, Otto I, the Great ) of Germany during the tenth century, but they lost this position in 1024. The duchy was divided in 1180 when Duke Henry the Lion refused to follow his cousin, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa , into war in Lombardy . During the High Middle Ages , under the Salian emperors and, later, under the Teutonic Knights , German settlers moved east of

6579-409: The Frankish monarch as on par with the Roman emperors and as the bringer of Christian salvation to people. References are made to periodic outbreaks of pagan worship, especially of Freya, among the Saxon peasantry as late as the 12th century. In the ninth century, the Saxon nobility became vigorous supporters of monasticism and formed a bulwark of Christianity against the existing Slavic paganism to

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6708-440: The Franks. There were also Saxon populations in this period who were living in neither England, nor what would become Saxony. The continental Saxons appear to have become consolidated by the end of the eighth century, partly as a result of interaction with the powerful Frankish kingdoms. The ancestors of Charlemagne, the Arnulfings , took control of the neighbouring Austrasian kingdom of the Franks and sought to assert power over

6837-480: The Late Medieval period as a literary, administrative and, to a significant extent, cultural language in favor of Dutch and German . The first Saxons clearly mentioned in ancient records were the "Saxons" who became important during the late Roman Empire as coastal raiders who attacked from the north using boats, in a similar sense to the much later term Viking . These early raiders and settlers were believed by contemporaries to come from coastal regions north of

6966-431: The Ludowingian Landgraves of 12th-century origin. The eight stars around it represent the eight former states which formed Thuringia. The flag of Thuringia is a white-red bicolor, derived from the white and red stripes of the Ludowingian lion. The coat of arms and flag of Hesse are quite similar to the Thuringian ones, since they are also derived from the Ludowingian symbols. Symbols of Thuringia in popular culture are

7095-404: The Pious supported Christian vernacular works in order to evangelise the Saxons more efficiently. The Heliand , a verse epic of the life of Christ in a Germanic setting, and Genesis , another epic retelling of the events of the first book of the Bible , were commissioned in the early ninth century by Louis to disseminate scriptural knowledge to the masses. A council of Tours in 813 and then

7224-437: The Prussian municipality of Rahlstedt and became part of Hamburg under the Greater Hamburg Act of 1937. The quarter, situated in the north-eastern side of Hamburg , is the largest of its boroughs and one of the most extensive in the city. It borders Hamburg's quarters of Volksdorf , Farmsen-Berne , Tonndorf and Jenfeld ; and with the district of Stormarn , in Schleswig-Holstein . The stream Wandse , originating near

7353-446: The Roman military, which was stationed in what is now Lebanon and northern Israel. This Ala primum Saxonum already existed by 363 when Julian used them in Arabia against the Persian empire . Roman military accessories are found in northern Germany in the 4th and 5th centuries apparently indicating the return of soldiers who had served the empire. Several records mentioning the early Saxons can be dated: In almost all of these cases

7482-409: The Saxons into the Frankish empire. Though much of the highest caste converted readily, forced baptisms and forced tithing made enemies of the lower orders. Even some contemporaries found the methods employed to win over the Saxons wanting, as this excerpt from a letter of Alcuin of York to his friend Meginfrid, written in 796, shows: If the light yoke and sweet burden of Christ were to be preached to

7611-399: The Saxons of Germany no longer form a distinctive ethnic group or country, but their name lives on in the names of several regions and states of Germany , including Lower Saxony ( German : Niedersachsen ) which includes most of the original duchy. Their language evolved into Low German which was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League , but has faced a long and gradual decline since

7740-449: The Saxons were associated with using boats for their raids, even within the Maas delta region. Special mentions of the fearful 4th-century Saxon surprise attacks were made not only by Ammianus, but also by the poet Claudian . Some generations later a dramatic description of Saxon raiding was written by Sidonius Apollinaris writing to a friend who was assigned to a coastal defensive post in Saintonge near Bordeaux . A rough description of

7869-446: The Thuringian states' inclusion in the German Confederation ; the Kingdom of Prussia also acquired some Thuringian territory and administered it within the Province of Saxony . The Thuringian duchies which became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany were Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , Saxe-Meiningen , Saxe-Altenburg , Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , Schwarzburg-Sondershausen , Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and

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7998-422: The Thuringii were famous for their excellent horses. The Thuringian Realm existed until after 531. The Landgraviate of Thuringia was the largest state in the region, persisting between 1131 and 1247. Afterwards the state known as Thuringia ceased to exist; nevertheless the term commonly described the region between the Harz mountains in the north, the White Elster river in the east, the Franconian Forest in

8127-425: The White and Hewald the Black , were martyred by the vicani , that is, villagers. Throughout the century that followed, villagers and other peasants proved to be the greatest opponents of Christianisation , while missionaries often received the support of the edhilingui and other noblemen. Saint Lebuin , an Englishman who between 745 and 770 preached to the Saxons, mainly in the eastern Netherlands, built

8256-416: The age of 18 living with them and 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.05. Among the schools in Rahlstedt are Gymnasium Oldenfelde , Gymnasium Rahlstedt , Gymnasium Meiendorf , and Neue Schule Hamburg . Saxons The Saxons , sometimes called the Old Saxons , were the Germanic people of "Old" Saxony ( Latin : Antiqua Saxonia ) which became

8385-410: The area east of Saale and Loquitz valley, is marked by a hilly landscape, rising slowly from the flat north to the mountainous south. The Saale in the west and the White Elster in the east are the two big rivers running from south to north and forming densely settled valleys in this area. Between them lies the flat and forested Holzland in the north, the flat and fertile Orlasenke in the middle and

8514-549: 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 generally accepted the Protestant Reformation , and Roman Catholicism was suppressed as early as 1520; priests who remained loyal to it were driven away and churches and monasteries were largely destroyed, especially during

8643-446: The area to the north of the lower Elbe . However, other versions refer to the same tribe as Axones . This may be a misspelling of the tribe that Tacitus in his Germania called Aviones . According to this theory, Saxones was the result of later scribes trying to correct a name that meant nothing to them. On the other hand, Schütte , in his analysis of such problems in Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe , believed that Saxones

8772-403: The areas around Erfurt , Mühlhausen , and Nordhausen . Erfurt became the new capital of Thuringia. Ostheim , an exclave of Landkreis Eisenach, was ceded to Bavaria. In 1952, the German Democratic Republic dissolved its states, and created districts ( Bezirke ) instead. The three districts that shared the former territory of Thuringia were Erfurt, Gera and Suhl . Altenburg Kreis

8901-415: The balance was negative with Switzerland (−2,800) and Austria (−900). Of the approximately 850 municipalities of Thuringia, 126 are classed as towns (within a district) or cities (forming their own urban district). Most of the towns are small with a population of less than 10,000; only the ten biggest ones have a population greater than 30,000. The first towns emerged during the 12th century, whereas

9030-456: The basic political structure of the later Holy Roman Empire . The early rulers of this Duchy of Saxony expanded their territories, and therefore those of the Holy Roman empire, to the east, at the expense of Slavic-speaking Wends . Before the entry of Saxony into Frankish history, there is possibly a single classical reference to a smaller and much earlier Saxon tribe, but the interpretation of this text ("Axones" in most surviving manuscripts)

9159-408: The beginning of Urbanisation around 1840, the Thuringian cities have higher growth rates resp. smaller rates of decline than rural areas (many villages lost half of their population since 1950, whereas the biggest cities ( Erfurt and Jena ) kept growing). The 1981 census projected that Thuringia's population would reach 2,221,222 by 2011. The population counted in the 2011 census was 2,181,603, which

9288-415: The birth ratio. Furthermore, the population is getting older and older with some rural municipalities recording more than 30% of over-65s (pensioners). This is a problem for the regional labour market, as there are twice as many people leaving as entering the job market annually. The birth rate was about 1.8 children per women in the 1970s and 1980s, shrinking to 0.8 in 1994 during the economic crisis after

9417-426: The college towns Erfurt , Jena , Weimar and Ilmenau have the highest rates, whereas there are almost no migrants living in the most rural smaller municipalities. The Thuringian population has a significant sex ratio gap, caused by the emigration of young women, especially in rural areas. Overall, there are 115 to 120 men per 100 women in the 25–40 age group ("family founders") which has negative consequences for

9546-575: The east and the Nordic paganism of the Vikings to the north. Much Christian literature was produced in the vernacular Old Saxon , the notable ones being a result of the literary output and wide influence of Saxon monasteries such as Fulda , Corvey and Verden ; and the theological controversy between the Augustinian , Gottschalk and Rabanus Maurus . From an early date, Charlemagne and Louis

9675-532: The eastern part of the present-day Federal Republic of Germany : note the names of the federal states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt . Thuringia Thuringia , officially the Free State of Thuringia , is one of Germany's 16 states with 2.1 million people, its 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, its 11th-largest in area. Erfurt is the capital and largest city. Other cities include Jena , Gera and Weimar . Thuringia

9804-573: The economy has seen an upturn and the general economic situation has improved. Agriculture and forestry have declined in importance over the decades. Nevertheless, they are more important than in most other areas of Germany, especially within rural regions. 54% of Thuringia's territory is in agricultural use. The fertile basins such as the large Thuringian Basin or the smaller Goldene Aue , Orlasenke and Osterland are in intensive use for growing cereals, vegetables, fruits and energy crops. Important products are apples, strawberries, cherries and plums in

9933-472: The first far-right party in Germany since World War II to win a state election. Thuringia is divided into 17 districts ( Landkreise ): Furthermore, there are five urban districts: Thuringia's economy is marked by the economic transition that happened after the German reunification and led to the closure of most of the factories within the Land. The unemployment rate reached a peak in 2005. Since that year,

10062-457: The first centuries of its use the term Saxon was associated with raiders and not associated with any clearly defined homeland, apart from the settlements of Saxons in what are now England and Normandy. It is only much later that the medieval records of the Frankish empire began to refer to a largely inland nation of Saxons in what is now northern Germany. Although it became convenient to refer to

10191-525: The following hill chains (clockwise from the north-west): Dün , Hainleite , Windleite , Kyffhäuser , Hohe Schrecke , Schmücke , Finne , Ettersberg , Steigerwald , Thuringian Forest , Hörselberge and Hainich . Within the Basin the smaller hill chains Fahner Höhe and Heilinger Höhen . South of the Thuringian Basin is the state's largest mountain range, marked by the Thuringian Forest in

10320-440: The forest, agriculture is still quite conventional and dominated by large structures and monocultures. Problems here are caused especially by increasingly prolonged dry periods during the summer months. Environmental damage in Thuringia has been reduced to a large extent after 1990. The condition of forests, rivers and air was improved by modernizing factories, houses (decline of coal heating) and cars, and contaminated areas such as

10449-751: The forested mountains, are protected as natural reserves, including Thuringia's first national park within the Hainich mountains, founded in 1997, the Rhön Biosphere Reserve , the Thuringian Forest Nature Park and the South Harz Nature Park . During the Middle Ages, Thuringia was at the border between Germanic and Slavic territories, marked by the Saale river. The main Slavic tribe in what

10578-461: The former Uranium surface mines around Ronneburg have been remediated. Today's environmental problems are the salination of the Werra river, caused by discharges of K+S salt mines around Unterbreizbach and overfertilisation in agriculture, damaging the soil and small rivers. Environment and nature protection has been of growing importance and attention since 1990. Large areas, especially within

10707-518: The future king of Italy, who is mentioned in the same part of Gregory's text as a person who subsequently allied with Childeric to fight Alemanni in Italy. In comparison to mentions of the early Saxons raiders and settlers in Britain or Gaul, there are few mentions of the Saxons in Germany before the 8th century. Interpretation of the records is also complicated not only by the continuing references to

10836-564: The general council; twelve representatives from each caste were sent from each Gau . In 782, Charlemagne abolished the system of Gaue and replaced it with the Grafschaftsverfassung , the system of counties typical of Francia . By prohibiting the Marklo councils, Charlemagne pushed the frilingi and lazzi out of political power. The old Saxon system of Abgabengrundherrschaft , lordship based on dues and taxes,

10965-765: The headwater of the Weser – drains the south-west and west of the state. Furthermore, some small areas on the southern border are drained by tributaries of the Main , itself a tributary of the Rhine . There are no large natural lakes in Thuringia, but it does have some of Germany's biggest dams, including the Bleiloch Dam and the Hohenwarte Dam on the River Saale, as well as the Leibis-Lichte Dam and

11094-516: The homeland of these Saxons was given by Hilarion who says the Frankish homeland lay between the Saxons and Alemanni . In 441–442 AD, Saxons are mentioned in the Chronica Gallica of 452 which says that the "British provinces, which to this time had suffered various defeats and misfortunes, are reduced to Saxon rule". Some generations later Gildas is generally seen as reporting what happened, although he gave no date. According to him,

11223-666: The king, but, during Charlemagne's campaign in Hispania (778), the Saxons advanced to Deutz on the Rhine and plundered along the river. This was an oft-repeated pattern when Charlemagne was distracted by other matters. Under Carolingian rule , the Saxons were reduced to tributary status. There is evidence that the Saxons, as well as Slavic tributaries such as the Abodrites and the Wends , often provided troops to their Carolingian overlords. The dukes of Saxony became kings ( Henry I ,

11352-698: The language of the Chauci , the language of the Thuringians , and possibly other ancient tribes) prevailed and ultimately formed the basis for the Low Saxon dialects known today, while their speakers retained the tribal name. Bede , a Northumbrian writing around the year 730, remarks that "the old (that is, the continental) Saxons have no king, but they are governed by several ealdormen (or satrapa ) who, during war, cast lots for leadership but who, in time of peace, are equal in power." The regnum Saxonum

11481-451: The languages of the Angles and this particular Saxon group were closely related, a continuum between Anglian and Saxon could form in Britain, which later became English . In the land of the Saxons itself, the departure of a large part of this former elite caused the sociopolitical landscape to change, and the original population, after the departure of the majority of the elite's descendants, became so predominant that their dialects (presumably

11610-619: The largest party with 33% of the vote (and 36% of the seats), its best ever performance and the first time it placed first in a state election in Germany. The incumbent governing coalition suffered dramatic losses; the Left had split up, with new Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) becoming the more popular part, while the remaining Left lost more than half of its support and fell to fourth place on 13%. The 130+ year old SPD, which since late 2021 rules Germany under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, recorded its worst result in any postwar state election, barely passing

11739-417: The latest ones received town status only in the 20th century. Today, all municipalities within districts are equal in law, whether they are towns or villages. Independent cities (i.e. urban districts) have greater powers (the same as any district) than towns within a district. * Average annual change in percent within the last three years (13 December 2009 to 31 December 2012), adjusted from incorporations and

11868-592: The most obstinate people of the Saxons with as much determination as the payment of tithes has been exacted, or as the force of the legal decree has been applied for fault of the most trifling sort imaginable, perhaps they would not be averse to their baptismal vows. Charlemagne's successor, Louis the Pious , reportedly treated the Saxons more as Alcuin would have wished, and as a consequence they were faithful subjects. The lower classes, however, revolted against Frankish overlordship in favour of their old paganism as late as

11997-460: The most to Bavaria , Saxony , Hesse and Berlin . Only with Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg the balance is positive. The international migration is fluctuating heavily. In 2009, the balance was +700, in 2010 +1,800, in 2011 +2,700 and in 2012 +4,800. The most important countries of origin of the Thuringia migrants from 2008 to 2012 were Poland (+1,700), Romania (+1,200), Afghanistan (+1,100) and Serbia / Montenegro / Kosovo (+1,000), whereas

12126-583: The municipality Siek (district Stormarn ), and its confluents Rahlau , Stellau and Stellmoorer Quellfluss , run through Rahlstedt. The Rahlau flows into the Wandse near Nordmarkstraße, whereas the Stellau does near Wilhelm-Grimm-Straße. The Stellmoorer Quellfluss within the Stellmoorer Tunneltal . The most significant features, remains from the ice age, are located within

12255-551: The name Saxon supposedly derives. In Estonian , saks means colloquially, 'a wealthy person'. As a result of the Northern Crusades , Estonia 's upper class comprised mostly Baltic Germans, persons of supposedly Saxon origin until well into the 20th century. Following the downfall of Henry the Lion (1129–1195, Duke of Saxony 1142–1180), and the subsequent splitting of the Saxon tribal duchy into several territories,

12384-599: The name of the Saxon duchy was transferred to the lands of the Ascanian family. This led to the differentiation between Lower Saxony (lands settled by the Saxon tribe) and Upper Saxony (the lands belonging to the House of Wettin ). Gradually, the latter region became known as Saxony, ultimately usurping the name's original geographical meaning. The area formerly known as Upper Saxony now lies in Central Germany – in

12513-489: The name of the town Sascut , in present-day Romania, shows. The Finns and Estonians have changed their usage of the root Saxon over the centuries to apply now to the whole country of Germany ( Saksa and Saksamaa respectively) and the Germans ( saksalaiset and sakslased , respectively). The Finnish word sakset ( scissors ) reflects the name of the old Saxon single-edged sword –  seax  – from which

12642-591: The nature reserves Stellmoorer Tunneltal and Höltigbaum . The Rahlstedt Cemetery contains 19,000 graves, including that of the 19th century poet Detlev von Liliencron . In 2006 86,413 people lived in the Rahstedt quarter. The population density was 3,252/km (8,423/sq mi). 17.4% were children under the age of 18, and 22.5% were 65 years of age or older. Resident aliens were 9% of the population. 3,983 people were registered as unemployed. In 1999 there were 41,301 households, out of which 22.4% had children under

12771-486: The north by, in a similar sense to the much later term Viking . These early raiders and settlers came from coastal regions north of the Rhine . They included Frisians , Angles and Jutes , as well as people from the coastal part of what came to be called Saxony. One of the first writers to mention a country called Saxony appears to have been an Ostrogothic geographer of Italy named Marcomir. The much later Ravenna Cosmography which reproduces some of his reports uses

12900-493: The north-east, is warm and dry, with a mean annual temperature of 8.5 °C and mean precipitation of 450 mm; contrast this with wet, cool Oberhof , in the Thuringian Forest, where temperature averages only 4.4 °C and mean annual precipitation reaches 1300 mm. Due to many centuries of intensive settlement, most of the area is shaped by human influence. The original natural vegetation of Thuringia

13029-709: The north-west, the Thuringian Highland in the middle and the Franconian Forest in the south-east. Most of this range is forested and the Großer Beerberg (983 m) is Thuringia's highest mountain. To the south-west, the Forest is followed up by Werra river valley, dividing it from the Rhön Mountains in the west and the Grabfeld plain in the south. Eastern Thuringia, commonly described as

13158-484: The other Saxons, but also because the German Saxons possibly weren't originally unified within one Saxon political entity. It is therefore not clear whether some early continental "Saxons" could also sometimes have come under other designations such as Warini , Frisians or Thuringians . Nevertheless some records during Merovingian times are clearly about Saxons living within what is now Northern Germany, north of

13287-463: The party got 22.7%, while in 2021 they got 24.0%. Thuringia is notable for being the first and only state in Germany where the communist party that ruled former East Germany until 1989, The Left (Die Linke), and the new Alternative for Germany (AfD) have seen their first-ever first place finish in a state election. Die Linke in 2019 , and the AfD in 2024 . The Alternative for Germany (AfD) became

13416-492: The peoples to the east including not only the Bavarians, Swabians and Thuringians, which were long under Frankish rule, but also the Saxons and Frisians. They also pressured the Saxons and Frisians to convert to Christianity. In 804 the emperor Charlemagne conquered the Saxons, and incorporated the Saxons into the Frankish empire as a Stem Duchy, similar to the older ones although there is no evidence that it had previously been

13545-652: The period, but by the time of Bede in the 8th century most of England was ruled by Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the 460s, an apparent fragment of a chronicle preserved in the History of the Franks of Gregory of Tours , gives a confusing report about a number of battles involving one " Adovacrius " who led a group of Saxons based upon islands somewhere near the mouth of the Loire . He took hostages at Anger in France, but his force

13674-514: The population in 2018. Members of the Catholic Church formed 7.6% of the population, while 71.6% of Thuringians were non-religious or adhere to other faiths. The highest Protestant concentrations are in the small villages of southern and western Thuringia, whereas the bigger cities are even more non-religious (up to 88% in Gera ). Catholic regions are Eichsfeld in the northwest and parts of

13803-569: The population − among the smallest proportions of any state in Germany). Nevertheless, the number rose from 33,000 in July 2011, an increase of 24% in only two years. About 4% of the population are migrants (including persons that already received German citizenship). The biggest groups of foreigners by citizenship are (as of 2012): Russians (3,100), Poles (3,000), Turks (2,100) and Ukrainians (2,000). The number of foreigners varies between regions:

13932-462: The random decision-making. There were also sacred rituals and objects, such as the pillars called Irminsul ; these were believed to connect heaven and earth, as with other examples of trees or ladders to heaven in numerous religions. Charlemagne had one such pillar chopped down in 772 close to the Eresburg stronghold. Early Saxon religious practices in Britain can be gleaned from place names and

14061-477: The reunification and rose again to more than 1.4 children in 2010, which is a higher level than in West Germany. Nevertheless, there are only 17,000 births compared to 27,000 deaths per year, so that the annual natural change of the Thuringian population is about −0.45%. In 2015 there were 17,934 births, the highest number since 1990. Migration plays an important role in Thuringia. The internal migration shows

14190-535: The same derivation, as do the words used in Welsh to describe the English people ( Saeson , singular Sais ) and the language and things English in general: Saesneg and Seisnig . Cornish terms the English Sawsnek , from the same derivation. In the 16th century Cornish-speakers used the phrase Meea navidna cowza sawzneck to feign ignorance of the English language. The Cornish words for

14319-588: The south and the Werra river in the west. After the Treaty of Leipzig , Thuringia had its own dynasty again, the Ernestine Wettins . Their various lands formed the Free State of Thuringia, founded in 1920, together with some other small principalities. The Prussian territories around Erfurt , Mühlhausen and Nordhausen joined Thuringia in 1945. The coat of arms of Thuringia shows the lion of

14448-586: The term "Old Saxony" to refer to the continental homeland of the British Saxons who the writer understood to have come from this Old Saxony with a leader named Ansehis . It describes the lands of this Old Saxony as lying on the ocean coast, between Frisia and the Danes. It contained the rivers "Lamizon", "Ipada", "Lippa" and "Limac", which are generally interpreted as the Ems , Pader , Lippe and Leine . Today

14577-404: The three castes, excluding slaves, were called the edhilingui (related to the term aetheling ), frilingi and lazzi . These terms were subsequently Latinised as nobiles or nobiliores ; ingenui , ingenuiles or liberi ; and liberti , liti or serviles . According to very early traditions that are presumed to contain a good deal of historical truth,

14706-649: The two principalities of Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line . In 1920, after World War I , these small states merged into one state, called the Free State of Thuringia ( Freistaat Thüringen ); only Saxe-Coburg voted to join Bavaria instead. Weimar became the new capital. The coat of arms of this new state was simpler than those of its predecessors. The Landtag of the newly established state first convened in 1920 in Weimar. Its deputies were elected for three years according to proportional representation , with

14835-565: The union of the Saxons with the rest of the Frankish empire. Their sacred tree or pillar, a symbol of Irminsul , was destroyed. Charlemagne deported 10,000 Nordalbingian Saxons to Neustria and gave their largely vacant lands in Wagria (approximately modern Plön and Ostholstein districts) to the loyal king of the Abotrites . Einhard , Charlemagne's biographer, says on the closing of this grand conflict: The war that had lasted so many years

14964-603: The west near the Lippe, Ems and Weser, and further east, neighbouring Thuringia and Bohemia . Later medieval sources referred to this eastern area as "North Swabia". Charlemagne conquered all the Saxons after winning the long Saxon Wars (772–804), and forced them to convert to Christianity , annexing Saxony into the Carolingian domain. Under the Carolingian Franks, Saxony became a single duchy, fitting it within

15093-481: 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 Margraviate of Meissen , the nucleus of the later Electorate 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

15222-416: The whole of their kingdom. Since then, this part of eastern Germany has been referred to as Saxony ( German : Sachsen ), a source of some misunderstanding about the original homeland of the Saxons, with a central part in the present-day German state of Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen ). Old English, associated with the Saxons in England, was closer to later recorded dialects of Old Frisian than

15351-452: The word in English. The Gaelic name for England is Sasann (older spelling: Sasunn , genitive : Sasainn ), and Sasannach (formed with a common adjective suffix -ach ) means 'English' in reference to people and things, though not when naming the English language, which is Béarla . Sasanach , the Irish word for an Englishman (with Sasana meaning England), has

15480-708: The work of Paul the Deacon , to distinguish the Germanic-speaking inhabitants of Britain from continental Saxons. However, both the Saxons of Britain and those of Old Saxony in northern Germany long continued to be referred to as "Saxons" in an indiscriminate manner. The name of the Saxons has traditionally been said to derive from a kind of knife used in this period and called a seax in Old English, and sachs in Old High German . During

15609-516: Was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the king; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people. The Saxons long resisted becoming Christians and being incorporated into the orbit of the Frankish kingdom . In 776 the Saxons promised to convert to Christianity and vow loyalty to

15738-474: Was composed of nine forts stretching around the south-eastern corner of England. On the other side of the English channel two coastal military commands were created, over the Tractus Armoricanus in what is now Brittany and Normandy, and the coast of Belgica Secunda in what later became Flanders and Picardy. The Notitia Dignitatum also lists the existence of a Saxon military unit (an Ala ) in

15867-455: Was divided into three provinces – Westphalia , Eastphalia and Angria  – which comprised about one hundred pagi or Gaue . Each Gau had its own satrap with enough military power to level whole villages that opposed him. In the mid-9th century, Nithard first described the social structure of the Saxons beneath their leaders. The caste structure was rigid; in the Saxon language

15996-405: Was founded at Dorchester . The South Saxons were first evangelised extensively under Anglian influence; Aethelwalh of Sussex was converted by Wulfhere , King of Mercia and allowed Wilfrid , Bishop of York , to evangelise his people beginning in 681. The chief South Saxon bishopric was that of Selsey . The East Saxons were more pagan than the southern or western Saxons; their territory had

16125-453: Was part of Leipzig Bezirk. The present State of Thuringia was recreated with slightly altered borders during German reunification in 1990. From the northwest going clockwise; Thuringia borders on the German states of Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , Saxony , Bavaria and Hesse . The landscapes of Thuringia are quite diverse. The far north is occupied by the Harz mountains, followed by

16254-469: Was replaced by a form of feudalism based on service and labour, personal relationships and oaths. Saxon religious practices were closely related to their political practices. The annual councils of the entire tribe began with invocations of the gods. The procedure by which dukes were elected in wartime, by drawing lots, is presumed to have had religious significance, i.e. in giving trust to divine providence – it seems – to guide

16383-484: Was significantly different from their own, i.e. belonging to the Weser–Rhine Germanic grouping, over whom they then formed an elite, lending their name to the subsequent tribal federation and region as a whole. Later, during the 5th century, as the Angles started migrating to Britain, the descendants of this elite joined them, while the descendants of the native inhabitants did not, or at least not significantly. As

16512-457: Was sometimes written of as the Saxon homeland. To avoid confusion, already in the 8th century authors such as Bede sometimes referred to the Saxons of Saxony in Germany as the "old Saxons", and their country as "old Saxony", and this differentiation is still often used by historians today when discussing this period. In contrast, the settlers once called Saxons in England became part of a new Old English -speaking nation, now commonly referred to as

16641-426: Was subsequently retaken by Roman and Frankish forces led by Childeric I . A "great war was waged between the Saxons and the Romans but the Saxons, turning their backs, with the Romans pursuing, lost many of their men to the sword. Their islands were captured and ravaged by the Franks, many people being killed." Though there is no consensus, many historians believe that this Adovacrius may be the same person as Odoacer ,

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