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133-404: Among scattered foothills at its northern foot are the towns Eisenach , Gotha and Arnstadt . The towns of Ilmenau and Suhl sit in slight dips on the range itself to the north and south respectively. The Thuringian Forest forms a continuous chain of ancient rounded mountains with steep slopes to both sides and poses ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes. It

266-508: A Flecken (small market town ) since 1445 and the full municipal rights were granted in 1527, making Suhl one of the youngest cities in present-day Thuringia. Iron ore mining created the basis for the development of Suhl as a centre of gunsmith trade. The Reformation was introduced in 1544. Several witch-hunts took place in the area from 1553 until the late 17th century. When the Henneberg counts became extinct in 1583, Suhl passed to

399-729: A barrier to the main weather currents, erosion is strong and has led to a more pronounced relief than in many other of the European low mountain chains. The mean temperatures decrease with altitude: While the Thuringian Basin experiences less than 100 days per year with temperatures below 0 °C, this number rises to more than 150 in the upper altitudes of the Thuringian Forest. The Northwest Thuringian Forest comprises an area of about 70 km reaching heights up to 470 m (1,540 ft), hardly exceeding those of

532-509: A decline of more than 35% since 1988, Suhl is among the heaviest shrinking cities in Germany. The average decrease of population between 2009 and 2012 was approximately 1.68% p. a, which is faster than in bordering rural regions. Suburbanization played only a small role in Suhl. It occurred after the reunification for a short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas were situated within

665-522: A ducal residence again for the house of Saxe-Eisenach . Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685, when it was a part of the Holy Roman Empire . His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach worked here as a musician at that time. Other famous composers and musicians associated with Eisenach during that period were Johann Pachelbel , Johann Christoph Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann . As

798-487: A first increase of population up to 6,000 around 1800. During the following decades, the industrial revolution in other German regions led to an economic crisis in Suhl, because of the bad traffic conditions for exporting products. Nevertheless, the population grew further to 10,000 in the 1880s, as the city got finally connected to the railway. Compared to other upcoming cities in Germany, the growth of population stayed slight until 1935, as Suhl counted 15,000 inhabitants. Then,

931-431: A lasting period of urban decline starting in 1990. Suhl is known for its sportsmen, especially in shooting, winter sports, and volleyball. Though first appearing in a 1318 deed, several entries in the annals of Fulda Abbey already mentioned a place named Sulaha between 900 and 1155 AD. The coat of arms from 1365 shows two hammers, indicating the city's most important livelihood: metal processing. The region belonged to

1064-410: A microclimate with mostly adequate air circulation along the west-eastern valley which made Eisenach a resort at the end of the 19th century. Annual precipitation is 831 millimeters (32.7 in) with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Light snowfall mainly occurs from December through February, but snow cover does not usually remain for long in the inner town valley. Eisenach has always been one of

1197-588: A part of the Thuringian Basin , but with numerous deeply eroded river valleys and the dense forestation they resemble very much the Thuringian Forest. The Thuringian Forest is located in the Central European transition zone between the Atlantic oceanic climate and the continental climate of Eastern Europe. Humid air arrives mainly from the west, so that the western slopes and the crest of

1330-489: A relatively low vacancy rate of 8% (according to 2011 EU census), compared with a loss in population of more than 35% since 1988. The birth deficit was 207 in 2012, this is −5.8 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: −4.5; national average: −2.4). The net migration rate was −11.5 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: −0.8; national average: +4.6). The most important target regions of Suhl migrants are other Thuringian regions like Erfurt, Jena and Eisenach same as

1463-518: A separate structure, is geologically very similar to the latter, as it consists of the same rock types such as granite, hornfels , porphyrites, Rotliegend and Zechstein sediments, and thus forms part of the Variscan chain. It is about 11 km (6.8 mi) long and 1 km (0.62 mi) to 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, with an average altitude of 460 m. Mining for fluorite , baryte , and limonite has been attempted there on several occasions, but

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1596-556: A stream from Albrechts, feeding into the Werra . This region between federal roads B 4 between Ilmenau and Stützerbach , following the rivers Ilm , Lengwitz, and Nahe, and B 247 between Luisenthal and Suhl contains the three highest summits as well as the fifth highest summit of the whole range. The only settlements wholly within this region are Gehlberg north of Rennsteig and Vesser south of it. Parts of Schmiedefeld and Goldlauter-Heidersbach (part of Suhl) also extend into this part of

1729-427: A turnover of more than 1.8 billion euros. Of those employees, 3,000 work for just two companies (Opel and Bosch), underlining the dependence of Eisenach on the automotive industry . Services in Eisenach are focused on tourism with 166,000 overnight visitors spending a total of 311,000 nights in hotels in 2012. In addition, there are large numbers of (mostly German) one-day visitors. Eisenach also provides services to

1862-541: A turnover of €295 million. Services in Suhl are including the typical regional supply (like retail, hospital, cinema etc.) and some preserved administrative functions over the surrounding districts like the Industrie- und Handelskammer and the regional centres of Arbeitsagentur and Rentenversicherung. Furthermore, tourism plays a role because of the beautiful landscape around. In 2012, there were 93,000 hotel guests having 245,000 overnight stays in Suhl. Suhl connected to

1995-597: Is a city in Thuringia , Germany , located SW of Erfurt , 110 kilometres (68 miles) NE of Würzburg and 130 kilometres (81 miles) N of Nuremberg . With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella-Mehlis , Suhl forms the largest urban area in the Thuringian Forest with a population of 46,000. The region around Suhl

2128-411: Is about 70 km (43 mi) long and 20 km (12 mi) wide. The highest elevation is Großer Beerberg at 982 m (3,222 ft) above sea level. The Rennsteig (sometimes called Rennweg ) is an ancient path following the main ridge and connecting the summits. It is now a famous hiking path and marks the traditional boundary between the hills -dominated terrain of central Germany and

2261-545: Is drained towards the north by the river Lütsche which feeds the Lütsche reservoir and by Wilde Gera and Zahme Gera towards Gera river and Unstrut , and by Freibach stream, a tributary of Ilm river, and towards the south by Lauter , a tributary of Hasel, and mainly by Erle , feeding the Erle reservoir, Breitenbach, Vesser, and Nahe into Schleuse . Notable summits include: The region around Frauenwald and Neustadt forms

2394-487: Is in construction ( Bundesautobahn 44 ). There are four Bundesstraßen connecting Eisenach: The Bundesstraße 7 runs to Kassel in the north-west, whereas its eastern branch to Gotha was annulled in 2010. The Bundesstraße 19 leads to Meiningen in the south, the Bundesstraße 84 to Bad Langensalza in the north-east and to Fulda via Vacha in the south-west and the Bundesstraße 88 is a connection to Ilmenau in

2527-775: Is known for the so-called Drachenschlucht , a narrow gorge near Eisenach, and the Wartburg castle. The northern part of the area is drained by several streams into the Hörsel , the southern part into the Elte. Hence, the ridge of the Northwestern Thuringian Forest only forms the watershed between Hörsel and the middle course of the Werra . Notable summits include: The much larger natural region of Central Thuringian Forest with an area of about 850 km, whose ridge rises mostly above 600 m (2,000 ft),

2660-591: Is located on the Bundesautobahn 4 from Frankfurt in the west to Erfurt and Dresden in the east. Since 2010, the Autobahn has been moved to a new route farther away from the town to protect the residents from noise and air pollution. Moreover, it was not possible to expand the old route because of the mountainous topography. After 2010, parts of the old route became a town highway, whereas other parts were renaturalized. A second Autobahn between Eisenach and Kassel

2793-522: Is marked by up to 1,000-meter-high mountains, including Thuringia's highest peak, the Großer Beerberg (983 m), approximately 5 kilometres (3 miles) NE of the city centre. Suhl was first mentioned in 1318 and stayed a small mining and metalworking town, until industrialization broke through in late 19th century and Suhl became a centre of Germany's arms production, specialized on rifles and guns with companies such as Sauer & Sohn . Furthermore,

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2926-607: Is overall a connection once an hour in both directions. Another railway to Schleusingen was opened in 1911 and closed in 1997. With a gradient of nearly 7%, it was one of the steepest regular railways in Germany. Stations in Suhl besides the main station are located in Heinrichs and Dietzhausen, whereas the Stations Suhler Neundorf and Friedberg at the Schleusingen line are abandoned. Suhl is situated at

3059-589: Is subdivided into several parts described below in their sequence from the north-west to the south-east. This part, situated around the town of Ruhla north of the Rennsteig , is geologically formed by the basement rocks of the Ruhlaer Kristallin , consisting of granites , gneiss , and schist . There is no pronounced ridge, summits on both sides of the watershed reach heights of 700 m (2,300 ft) or more. Its northeastern parts drain towards

3192-625: Is the Realschule where students graduate after a total of ten years of education. There are four public and one free sponsored Realschulen in Eisenach. In addition, there is one Waldorf school where education spans from primary school to gymnasium. In 1998, the Berufsakademie Eisenach was founded. The roughly 600 students can obtain a bachelor's degree there, either in economics or in technics. Suhl Suhl ( German pronunciation: [zuːl] )

3325-575: Is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situated near the former Inner German border . A major attraction is Wartburg castle, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Eisenach was an early capital of Thuringia in the 12th and 13th centuries. St.   Elizabeth lived at the court of the Ludowingians here between 1211 and 1228. Later, Martin Luther came to Eisenach and translated

3458-508: Is the part of Thuringia with the strongest economic base. Agriculture is not very important in Eisenach, because of the hilly terrain, the—compared to central Thuringia further east—less fertile soil and the relatively humid climate. However, 43% of the total municipal territory are in agricultural use, mostly as maize and rapeseed fields or as cattle pasture. The industrial structure is relatively focused on car production. The German auto manufacturer Opel built an entirely new plant in

3591-464: Is unknown. An 8th century Frankish settlement near Petersberg hill is regarded as the nucleus of Eisenach. However, there are no written sources about that early period. According to legend, Louis the Springer began in 1067 to establish Wartburg castle above the settlement. In 1080, the castle was first mentioned in a Saxon chronicle. Eisenach itself followed in a document dating to 1150 where it

3724-549: The 2011 EU census ). Differing from the national average, the biggest groups of migrants in Eisenach are Vietnamese , Russians and Ukrainians . Due to the official atheism of the former German Democratic Republic , most of the population is non-religious: 23.0% are members of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and 4.4% are Catholics (according to the 2011 EU census). The region around Eisenach

3857-708: The Bible into German. In 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was born here. During the early modern period , Eisenach was a residence of the Ernestine Wettins and was visited by numerous representatives of Weimar classicism like Johann Wolfgang Goethe . In 1869, the SDAP , one of the two precursors of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was founded in Eisenach. Car production is an important industry in Eisenach. The Automobilwerk Eisenach

3990-580: The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 2006. He was succeeded by independent Jens Triebel from 2006 to 2018. André Knapp of the CDU was elected in 2018, and has since served as mayor. The most recent mayoral election was held on 26 May 2024, and the results were as follows: The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2024, and the results were as follows: Agriculture plays no role in Suhl, only 17% of

4123-787: The Ernestine line of the Wettins. Between 1498 and 1501, the young Martin Luther attended the St. George's Latin school in Eisenach in preparation for his following studies at the University of Erfurt . In 1521/22 he was hidden by Frederick the Wise at Wartburg castle to protect him from the Imperial ban . In that time, Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German, in what

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4256-478: The Ludowingians , making Eisenach a leading place in today's western Thuringia and northern Hesse, which also belonged to the Ludowingian landgraviate. In 1207, the legendary Sängerkrieg supposedly took place at Wartburg castle. In 1221, St. Elizabeth married Landgrave Louis' IV and she lived in Eisenach or at Wartburg castle until 1228. Later, she became the patroness of Thuringia and Hesse. In 1247,

4389-560: The Renaissance , to other major local industries, including gunsmithing and armoring. Suhl was a major producer of cannons throughout the seventeenth and subsequent centuries, and Suhl cannons were used by many European powers. A major arms company that was located in Suhl for almost 200 years was J.P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH , producer of hunting rifles, shotguns, and pistols, such as the Sauer 38H , until moving operations to Eckernförde at

4522-500: The Rennsteig , reaches heights of around 900 m at several places southwest to west of Oberhof, but does not really form any individual mountains and has very much the character of a mountain crest. By contrast, the Großer Hermannsberg and Ruppberg (see below) that rise to the southwest of the ridge are better known and popular tourist destinations. To the northeast, where the terrain gradually flattens out, are two of

4655-517: The Saale river near Hof and the third follows near the medieval Via Regia from the Werra valley/Eisenach via Gotha, Erfurt and Weimar to Altenburg . Public transport in Eisenach is by a bus network servicing the downtown areas as well as the neighbouring towns and villages. The three-line tramway system of Eisenach was in operation between 1897 and 1975. After reunification, the educational system

4788-832: The Saale . The Apfelstädt is impounded by the Tambach-Dietharz Dam into a small lake and the Schmalwasser and Ohra by the Schmalwasser and Ohra Dams into larger reservoirs. The south is drained by the Asbach which flows via the Stille into the Schmalkalde and by rivers and streams belonging to the fan-like system of tributaries of Hasel (Werra) , in particular the Schwarza , Häselbach , Lichtenau and

4921-557: The Second World War , Bayerische Motoren Werke AG had produced motorcycles in the town. In preparation for World War II, new barracks were established in Eisenach and the car industry started the production of military equipment. After 1940, around 4,000 forced labourers (most of them from the Soviet Union ) were pressed to work in the town's factories, where some of them died due to the bad working conditions. Postwar,

5054-654: The Triassic period) over Zechstein ( evaporite deposits from the Permian period). The granite of the Suhler Scholle is capped with Permian sediments and igneous deposits. The higher hills to the northeast are part of the Beerberg Scholle , an irregularly cracked mass of quartz porphyry from the later Permian period. A band of iron ores follows the fault dividing the Suhler Scholle from

5187-541: The Wartburg Festival took place in Eisenach, a meeting of students advocating moves towards a more liberal, constitutional state and a unification of Germany . The industrial revolution started relatively early in Eisenach. As early as the first half of the 19th century, the first factories were founded. In 1847, Eisenach was connected by the Thuringian Railway to Erfurt and Halle / Leipzig in

5320-689: The Wettin electors of Saxony , where it remained until 1815. Unlike most of present Thuringia, it didn't belong to the Ernestine line of the Wettins, but to the Albertine cadet branch of Saxe-Zeitz from 1660, so that it had been a Saxonian and later Prussian exclave within Thuringia for nearly 300 years. During the 16th century, iron mining and metalworking saw a boom, finished by the Thirty Years' War , when marauding Croat mercenaries under Imperial general Johann Ludwig Hektor von Isolani burnt down

5453-649: The 3 largest reservoirs in the Thuringian Forest (see below). The best known rock formation in the mountain range, the Falkenstein , is also found in this area. Notable summits include: The northeastern flank of the mountains is drained by right tributaries of the Apfelstädt , especially the Schmalwasser , and left tributaries of the Ohra , notably the Kernwasser, via the (Apfelstädt,) Gera and Unstrut into

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5586-666: The Central German Crystalline Zone, of which Odenwald and Spessart are also constituents. In the Rotliegend era the region formed the crest of a mountain range where the debris originated that was deposited in the Eisenach trough and the northwestern part of the Oberhof trough. The sedimentary, volcano-sedimentary, and magmatic rocks which were deposited or formed in the area from the Cambrian until

5719-552: The Eisenach dukes died out in 1741, the town and the state became part of Saxe-Weimar . Nevertheless, the cultural life stayed unimpaired. The coterie around the poet Julie von Bechtolsheim  [ de ] met up with famous personalities like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Christoph Martin Wieland in Eisenach. From 1809 to 1918, Eisenach was part of the Duchy (after 1815 Grand Duchy) of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach . In 1817,

5852-722: The Forest. The highest summits crowning the mountain ridge are of volcanic origin. The terrain dips rapidly down to heights below 800 m towards the north-east, while heights remain above this altitude south-west of Rennsteig for some distance in the horseshoe-shaped Adlersberg massif. Motorway A 71 and the Neudietendorf–Ritschenhausen railway pass under the Brandleite Massif between Gehlberg and Oberhof in Rennsteig road tunnel and Brandleite Tunnel . The area

5985-500: The Hörsel, the southwestern parts towards the middle course of the Werra. The area is limited towards the south-east by state road 1027 between Schwarzhausen and Bad Liebenstein. Notable summits include: Reaching until Tambach-Dietharz , the part of Thuringian forest around the town of Brotterode is geologically more heterogeneous than the region around Ruhla. State road 1026 between Friedrichroda and Floh-Seligenthal which follows

6118-903: The Ludowingians died out which led to the War of the Thuringian Succession between the Wettins and Duchess Sophie of Brabant . As a consequence, the landgraviate was divided. Eisenach and the eastern parts went to the Wettins (later becoming Thuringia) and Kassel , Marburg and the western parts went to Sophie (later becoming Hesse). Eisenach kept a leading position among the Wettin's Thuringian cities by becoming their Oberhof (leading court), so that their law had to be derived from Eisenach's municipal law and disputes had to be resolved here. The confident citizens of Eisenach fought against

6251-626: The Middle Ages around the Marktplatz and the Steinweg (as main street) next to the confluence of Lauter and Rimbach river. Later, the city grew to the east and south to the bordering hills and valleys. After World War II, Suhl became the capital of one of the 14 Bezirks in the GDR in 1952. During the following decades, the city doubled its population, many Plattenbau settlements developed at

6384-415: The Nazi armament. About 10,000 forced labourers had to work in the city's arms industry after 1940. The US Army reached Suhl on 3 April 1945 and was replaced by Soviet troops on 1 July 1945. At the same year, Suhl became part of Thuringia, which was replaced by three Bezirks in 1952. Suhl became the capital of the south-western Bezirk Suhl , reaching from Bad Salzungen in the north-west to Sonneberg in

6517-431: The Nazis during Kristallnacht in November 1938. Most Jews emigrated at that time, others were deported to concentration camps and murdered there. During Nazi Germany the Institute for the Study and Elimination of Jewish Influence on German Church Life , an antisemitic propaganda institute, was set up in Eisenach by eleven German Protestant churches, founded at the instigation of the German Christian movement . Before

6650-408: The Oberhof trough had been a rift zone with intense tectonics and continual changes of the internal relief and of the main areas of deposition. The tectonic processes were accompanied by an intense felsitic volcanism which was the origin of many volcanic rock formations, predominantly rhyolites of porphyric structure with accompanying tuff deposits. These volcanic rocks alternate in sequence with

6783-405: The Rotliegend era, and the conglomerates, sandstones, and abundant volcanic rocks ( rhyolites and andesites ) of the Oberhof trough. Ore deposits associated with the upthrust of the range have been of significant historical importance in the development of the region, for example, the metalworking tradition in Suhl and the mining history of Ilmenau . The uplift of the horst -like fault block

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6916-483: The Thuringian Forest in Brandleite Tunnel between Gehlberg and Oberhof, the Werra Railway between Eisenach and Eisfeld does so in a tunnel near Förtha . Both are in daily operation. A third line, the southern section of the Plaue–Themar railway, does not use a tunnel, but crosses the mountain ridge at Rennsteig switchback station. It has only been used by museum trains since 1998. The Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway , due to be commissioned in December 2017, crosses

7049-410: The Thuringian Forest with the help of several tunnels and bridges. Thüringerwaldbahn, a cross-country line of the Gotha tramway network, serves the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest between Gotha and Bad Tabarz , including a branch to Waltershausen . Geologically, the Thuringian Forest is defined by a belt of strongly uplifted and deformed metamorphic and igneous rock that divides

7182-515: The Thuringian Forest. Public transport is carried out by a bus line network connecting the city centre with the outskirts, Zella-Mehlis and neighbouring villages. A trolleybus system was planned during the late 1980s, but not realized after the reunification. There is only one Gymnasium school left in Suhl, after others were closed due to the decline of the number of children after 1990. There are some museums and other cultural institutions in Suhl: The most significant sights in Suhl are: Suhl

7315-447: The Thuringian forest. The lack of volcanic rocks suggests that at the time of the deposition of the Eisenach formation, no significant tectonic processes took place in the Werra basin which was by then a mostly consolidated depositional environment. In the Ruhla anticline the basement rocks, folded in the Variscan era, are exposed. They are named Ruhlaer Kristallin after the location and are according to Franz Kossmat considered part of

7448-416: The Vesser complex near Schmiedefeld , an island of Variscan rocks embedded in Rotliegend. While the near-surface rocks of the Thuringian Highland comprise mostly the folded Variscan basement , the oldest unfolded overlying strata (dating from the Permosilesian age) of this basement are exposed in the Thuringian forest. Common to both ranges, but also to other low mountain ranges in Central Europe uplifted at

7581-431: The Wartburg castle was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Nevertheless, the financial situation of Eisenach remained difficult, unemployment stayed above average and car production suffered from the business problems of Opel. Eisenach is situated at the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest , at an elevation of about 220 m. The terrain is hilly, to the south also mountainous (up to 460 m of elevation), with

7714-405: The Wettin's rule to become a free imperial city between 1306 and 1308, but lost. In the 14th century various crises followed: in 1342, a big fire destroyed nearly all the buildings and the Black Death killed many inhabitants in 1349 and 1393. Since 1406, Eisenach was no longer a Wettin residence, which led to a decline in urban development. In 1485, in the " division of Leipzig ", the town fell to

7847-447: The adjacent Buntsandstein forelands to the southwest, but exhibiting a much more pronounced relief. It stretches until Moosbach stream, a tributary or Erbstrom river, in the north east, and to Bundesstraße 19 in the east and south, which follows the upper reaches of Elte river between the villages of Wilhelmsthal and Etterwinden. The predominant rock species is Eisenacher Rotliegend , namely conglomerates and sandstones . The area

7980-411: The administrative city borders. During the 1990s and the 2000s, many inhabitants left Suhl to search a better life in west Germany or other major east German cities like Erfurt , Jena or Leipzig . The birth deficit, caused by the high average age of the population, is getting a bigger problem because there is no immigration to compensate it yet. Urban planning activities to tear down unused flats led to

8113-410: The areas. A larger problem is vacancy in shops in the city centre, because the retail sector in Suhl has also been in a crisis for many years. ¹ Census The area around Suhl was settled during the later Middle Ages, nevertheless, Suhl stayed a village resp. small town of 1,000 to 2,000 inhabitants during this period. The growth of proto-industrial manufacturing businesses in 17th and 18th century led to

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8246-502: The arm production for World War II brought an economic boom to Suhl and a growth of population up to 26,000 in 1940, which stayed the same until the early 1960s. Between 1960 and 1988, the population grew up to 56,000, forced by the government's expansion of Suhl as a capital of one of the 14 Bezirks in GDR . After the reunification in 1990, the city lost its administrative and economic functions, which led to an extreme decline in population. It shrunk to 48,000 in 2000 and 36,000 in 2012. With

8379-399: The central Hörsel valley crossing the town in east-western direction. The Nesse river enters the Hörsel river in Eisenach after forming a valley through the spur of the Hörselberg mountains in the eastern municipal territory. The northern territory around the Neunkirchen, Stregda and Hötzelsroda districts is relatively flat and in agricultural use. Approximately 7 km (4 mi) west of

8512-425: The chain experience the highest levels of precipitation. While the exception of the northwestern part with its lower altitudes (650 mm), the yearly precipitation reaches about 1000 mm, in the higher parts up to about 1300 mm. In contrast, the leeward Thuringian Basin is one of the driest regions in Germany with only around 460 mm to 590 mm of precipitation per year. As the Thuringian Forest forms

8645-415: The city in 1634. From about 1690, Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz supported the reconstruction of Suhl as a mining town. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 led to the Saxonian loss of Suhl, which became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony , where it remained from 1815 to 1944 and again shortly in 1945. Staying an exclave within Ernestine territories, Suhl was part of the Schleusingen district until

8778-417: The construction of quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s. Long distance trails include the Werra trail , the Rennsteig trail and the Radweg Thüringer Städtekette ("Thuringian town string trail"). These all connect points of touristic interest, the first along the Werra valley from the Thuringian Forest to the Weser river in Hann. Münden , the second through the Thuringian Forest along its crest to

8911-434: The dissolution of Prussia in 1945. The later 19th century brought the connection to the railway in 1882 and the industrialisation of the metalworking business. About 1920, Suhl has been a centre of left-wing revolutionary groups, so that the Reichswehr occupied the city (and the neighbour-town Zella-Mehlis ) during the Kapp Putsch and ended the workers uprising. After 1935, the military industry saw another boom, caused by

9044-430: The east and in 1849 to Kassel and Frankfurt in the west. In 1858, the Werra Railway to Lichtenfels (and further to Nuremberg ) was opened. In August 1869, the leading socialists August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht founded the SDAP , one of the two predecessors of today's SPD in Eisenach. The Eisenach Program remained the party's main manifesto for the following years. The late 19th and early 20th century

9177-421: The east and the Kassel Calden Airport , roughly 90 km (56 mi) to the north-west. Both offer service to tourist destinations. The next major international airport is Frankfurt Airport , circa 200 km (124 mi) to the south-west. Kindel Airfield, 12 km (7 mi) east of Eisenach, is a former Soviet military base, today used for private aviation. Biking is getting more and more popular since

9310-399: The end of World War II. Other prominent firearms manufacturers in Suhl included: During the Cold War , the East German national shooting arena was located at Suhl, and hosted many top-level competitions, including the 1986 ISSF World Championships . Although surpassed in this respect in the unified Germany by the Olympic shooting centre at Munich , Suhl remains an important place to

9443-404: The engineering industry was based in Suhl with Simson , a famous car and moped producer. In 1952, Suhl became one of East Germany 's 14 district capitals, which led to a government-directed period of urban growth and conversion. Its results – a typical 1960s concrete architecture-marked city centre – are defining to the present. With the loss of its administrative and industrial functions, Suhl saw

9576-438: The exit of Mariental valley, opening to the Hörsel valley around Marktplatz, Karlsplatz and Frauenplan in a triangle structure. The early-modern period brought extensions to the west (Katharinenstraße), to the north (Jakobstraße) and to the east (in front of Nikolaitor gate). The construction boom between 1850 and 1914 led to a strict division in urban development. South of the historic centre, mansion districts were established on

9709-469: The favourable climate, the Thuringian Forest is an important year-round tourist destination. Winter sports play an important role, facilities of international significance are concentrated around Oberhof. Famous sights include Wartburg Castle outside Eisenach where Martin Luther lived in exile, the selenite cave ( Marienglashöhle , a former mine) near Friedrichroda , the firearms museum in Suhl , and

9842-561: The former inner German border, it is still interrupted between Eisfeld and Coburg , but rebuilding is in discussion. Eisenach station is a stop of all long-distance trains from Frankfurt to Leipzig/ Dresden , running once an hour. Local trains, also once an hour, start in Eisenach to Halle via Erfurt, to Sonneberg via Meiningen and Eisfeld and to Bebra via Gerstungen . Freight transport is important at Eisenach's Opel factory which has its own terminal. Further local passenger stations are Eisenach-West, Eisenach-Opelwerk and Hörschel. Eisenach

9975-489: The former south of Erfurt , crosses the range from the northeast to the southwest, passes under the ridge in the Rennsteig Tunnel near Oberhof, and is joined near Suhl by A 73 . Two more long-distance roads, Bundesstraßen 19 and 84, pass over the western parts of the range, while Bundesstraße 88 skirts the northern foothills between Eisenach and Geraberg. The Neudietendorf–Ritschenhausen railway crosses

10108-494: The hillsides of Mariental valley, where the rich factory owners, rentiers and other upper-class people lived. These districts are among the most important examples of this urban type in Germany, and one of the largest in Europe. North of the historic centre, next to the railway and Hörsel river, factories and worker quarters were established. These also host some examples of interesting Gründerzeit architecture. After World War I ,

10241-453: The historic town centres of Eisenach and Ilmenau . The Rennsteig trail is the most popular long-distance hiking trail in Germany. It is part of: Eisenach Eisenach ( German pronunciation: [ˈaɪzənax] ) is a town in Thuringia , Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of Erfurt , 70 km (43 miles) southeast of Kassel and 150 km (93 miles) northeast of Frankfurt . It

10374-467: The inner town the following rural districts (all of them were incorporated in 1994): The village of Fischbach was incorporated in 1922 and is a part of the inner town today. Eisenach has a humid continental climate (Dfb) or an oceanic climate ( Cfb ) according to the Köppen climate classification system. Summers are warm and sometimes humid, winters are relatively cold. The town's topography creates

10507-410: The inner-German border cut it off in 1949. Since that time, there is only regional traffic on the line (except a short time in 1990s with long-distance trains). The express train runs every two hours to Erfurt in the north and Würzburg in the south, where connections to long-distance trains are given. Furthermore, there are local trains to Erfurt and Meiningen , running also every two hours, so that there

10640-403: The junction of Bundesautobahn 71 (Erfurt–Würzburg) and Bundesautobahn 73 (Suhl–Nuremberg). Both got opened during the 2000s and host some impressive bridges and tunnels around Suhl, like the Rennsteig Tunnel in the north and the 82 m high Haseltalbrücke at Heinrichs district. A Bundesstraße through Suhl was the Bundesstraße 247 from Gotha in the north to Schleusingen in the south. It

10773-489: The larger towns in Thuringia with 4,000 to 5,000 inhabitants during the Middle Ages. By 1800, the population rose to 8,000 and further to 10,000 as industrialisation started around 1850. In 1875, the town had 16,000 inhabitants, 30,000 in 1900, 43,000 in 1925 and more than 50,000 in 1940, as the peak was reached. Like the most other east German mid-sized towns, Eisenach has had a shrinking population since 1950. It declined to 48,000 in 1990, 44,000 in 2000 and 42,000 in 2012. During

10906-406: The last few years (2009–2012), the annual change was -0.12% . Suburbanization played only a small role in Eisenach. It occurred after reunification for a short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas are situated within the administrative town borders. The birth deficit was 240 in 2012, or -5.7 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: -4.5; national average: -2.4). The net migration rate

11039-550: The managing director of the BMW aircraft engine works, Dr Schaaf, told the Fedden Mission there were as many as 11,000 working in the town, 4,500 in a plant inside a hillside turning out BMW 132 engines and parts for the 801 , the rest in town. The bombings during the war destroyed about 2,000 housing units and big parts of the car factories, as well as some historic buildings in the town centre, which were rebuilt soon after

11172-439: The more rugged terrain characteristic of southern Germany, and also the boundary between the cultural regions of central and north Thuringia and Franconia . Dialects and traditional customs and costumes are different on either side of the Rennsteig. The Rennsteig is the subject of the song Rennsteiglied ( de ) , the unofficial hymn of Thuringia. Motorway A 4 passes north of the Thuringian Forest, while A 71 , intersecting

11305-473: The most south-eastern part of the Thuringian forest proper. It is limited by state road B 4 in the northwest, and by a line along the rivers Talwasser (with Ilmsenbach), Neubrunn, and Schleuse. The adjacent Thuringian Slate Mountains form a geographically and geologically separate natural region, although they are often popularly referred to as a continuation of the former range. Populated places wholly within

11438-425: The municipal territory are in agricultural use. The soil isn't very fertile and the climate is harsh, the most cultivated strains are maize and rapeseed, furthermore there is cattle farming on some areas. On the other hand, 63% of the territory are forest, so that wood production plays a role in Suhl. Suhl's industry has always been based on metalworking. In the past, the city was a leading arms producer in Germany and

11571-470: The municipal territory is forested. There are a few small rivers running through Suhl: The Hasel rises at Friedberg in the south-east and runs westward through Suhl, Heinrichs, Mäbendorf, Dietzhausen and Wichtshausen. The Lauter rises on the southern slope of Großer Beerberg mountain and runs through Goldlauter, Lauter and the city centre, before it joins the Hasel behind the station. The Mühlwasser rises on

11704-584: The next 40 years and the population declined through that period. Nevertheless, Eisenach remained an important industrial location. The BMW car factory was socialized and under the new name EMW produced the Wartburg , the so-called "Mercedes of the East". The deteriorating condition of many historic houses led to a housing shortage during the 1970s. The government fought this by demolishing some historic quarters (e.g. at Jakobstraße) and rebuilding them with Plattenbau settlements. The biggest Plattenbau district

11837-433: The north, Hörselberg-Hainich and Wutha-Farnroda in the east and Marksuhl , Wolfsburg-Unkeroda and Gerstungen in the south (all situated in the district Wartburgkreis ) and Werra-Meißner-Kreis ( Hesse , municipality of Herleshausen in the west). The municipal border between Eisenach and Herleshausen was part of the inner German border / Iron Curtain from 1949 to 1990. The municipality of Eisenach includes beside

11970-520: The north, Eisenach benefitted from substantial west-east trade along Via Regia from Frankfurt to Erfurt and Leipzig and became a rich merchant town. During the second half of the 12th century, the town walls were erected (the Nikolaitor is an important relict of this wall) and Eisenach got a planned grid of streets and alleys. In the late 12th century, the Wartburg became the main residence of

12103-996: The north-east, the Ringberg (745 m), the Döllberg (760 m), the Friedberg (649 m) and the Adlersberg (859 m) in the east, the Steinsburg (641 m) in the south, the Heiliger Berg (513 m), the Domberg (675 m) and the Berg Bock (709 m) in the north-west as well as the Bocksberg (609 m) and the Hoheloh (526 m) within the city. The centre itself is located in an elevation of 450 m and nearly the complete non-build on part of

12236-540: The north. South of Georgenthal, the mountain range becomes the watershed between Elbe and Weser. Notable summits include: The B 247 from Luisenthal via Oberhof and Zella-Mehlis to Suhl , which follows the Ohra to the north, a section along the Lichtenau to the south and finally the lower reaches of the Mühlwasser , together with the slightly more than 10 km long L 1028 road that runs parallel to it to

12369-466: The northeast and the southwest clearly originate from the main one and show even and gentle slopes, not counting the steep descent into the foreland. The southwestern crests reach altitudes of about 800 m. The dividing valleys are often narrow gorges. The zone drains: The Schleuse, Gabel and Tanne feed the Schönbrunn reservoir. Notable summits include: Due to its geographical characteristics and

12502-504: The northwest of the town, after the Wartburg car plant had ceased production in 1991. The new plant opened in 1992. Most other large manufacturers in Eisenach serve as suppliers for Opel, the largest among them is Bosch . BMW runs a factory in the neighbouring municipality of Krauthausen that supplies car parts. Another component supplier is "Truck-Lite Europe". In 2012, there were a total of 19 industrial companies with more than 20 workers in Eisenach, employing 5,600 people and generating

12635-513: The northwest separates this natural sub-division of the Thuringian Forest from the rest. Apart from the south, this region is traversed by very few public roads and is only populated in the south – in the villages of Schnellbach and Struth-Helmershof in the municipality of Floh-Seligenthal , the Rotterode , Unterschönau and Oberschönau suburbs of Steinbach-Hallenberg and the town of Zella-Mehlis. The Elbe-Weser watershed , accompanied by

12768-413: The periphery and the centre got largely converted. The old town around Friedrich-König-Straße was demolished during the 1960s, as were the quarters east of Topfmarkt later. They were rebuilt with contemporary concrete architecture and Plattenbau buildings. The new city centre with all the important public buildings was developed around Friedrich-König-Straße, even with large-scale high-rise buildings. After

12901-454: The pleasing landscape and the various sights within the town. Between the 1860s and 1938, Eisenach hosted one of the largest Jewish communities in Thuringia with nearly 500 members at the beginning of the 20th century. Many Jews migrated from the Rhön area around Stadtlengsfeld to Eisenach after their emancipation in the early 19th century. The new synagogue was built in 1885 and destroyed by

13034-510: The railway quite late, because of its hilly terrain. The Neudietendorf–Ritschenhausen railway through the city was opened in 1882 (southern direction to Würzburg ) and in 1884 (northern direction to Erfurt ). It was one of only few main mountain railways in Prussia with the large, 3,039 metres (9,970 ft) long Brandleite Tunnel north of the city. Later, this railway became an important link between Berlin and south-western Germany, until

13167-404: The region (retail, hospitals, theatres, cinemas etc.). During recent years, the economic situation of the town improved: the unemployment rate declined from 17% in 2005 to 9% in 2013. The Wartburg castle is, aside from Weimar , the most-visited tourist attraction in Thuringia. Further sights are: Eisenach hosts a number of museums: The town of Eisenach developed during the Middle Ages at

13300-446: The region are Frauenwald , Allzunah, Neustadt am Rennsteig , and Oehrenstock. Parts of Stützerbach also reach into this area. Roads follow the Rennsteig , the mountain crests, or the valleys of the rivers. The main ridge of the mountain range exceeds altitudes of 800 m in several places. The highest and best known summit is Kickelhahn (861 metres above sea level) southwest of Ilmenau . As seen from there, all secondary crests towards

13433-532: The relatively flat sedimentary plains of the Thüringer Becken (to the northeast) from similar rock formations in the valley of the Werra (to the southwest). It consists of a large fault block in hercynian orientation, which consists from sandstones and conglomerates of Rotliegend age in its western parts (Eisenach trough), followed by granites and gneisses of the Ruhlaer Kristallin formation of early paleozoic origin which were uplifted in

13566-594: The reunification, the population shrunk heavily, leading to high vacancy rates. The government reacted to this by demolishing some of the Plattenbau settlements at the periphery; some buildings stood only for 20 years. Compared with other East German cities, the fight against vacancy was simpler in Suhl, because vacancy was concentrated at the periphery and not in the city centre (as in the most older cities in East Germany), which made it easy to demolish and renature

13699-587: The same time, are the bordering Zechstein deposits which contain Bryozoa reefs. These stretch especially wide on the northwestern edge of the Thuringian forest, where the landscape park of Altenstein Palace is located on one of the largest Zechstein reefs in Germany. The Eisenach trough is part of the much larger Werra basin, which in turn is part of the Saar-Unstrut depression of early Permian origin. It

13832-722: The sedimentary rocks to the southwest, while the copper and silver deposits are to the northeast in the Permian deposits above the Suhler Scholle. Southeast of town, there is a significant uranium deposit in the Buntsandstein . Suhl abuts the following municipalities: Geratal , Elgersburg and Ilmenau within Ilm-Kreis district in the north-east, Nahetal-Waldau , Sankt Kilian , Eichenberg , Grub , Oberstadt and Schmeheim within Hildburghausen district in

13965-499: The south, Dillstädt and Schwarza in the west as well as Benshausen and Zella-Mehlis in the north within Schmalkalden-Meiningen district. Some villages were incorporated during the 20th and 21st century to form the present-day districts of Suhl: Suhl's cityscape is marked by the lack of flat ground to build on, which is why the city's morphology appears picked and incoherent. The city centre developed during

14098-758: The south, and by the Variscan rocks of the Thuringian Highland towards the east. The geological borders differ from the geographical ones insofar, as the Rotliegend rock of the Thuringian forest finds its continuation in the Masserberg and Crock block in Hildburghausen district , southeast of the main range, and the rock types of the Thuringian Highland are also found in the Schleuse horst between Schönbrunn reservoir and Schönau, and in

14231-636: The south-east with a population of 550,000. During the GDR period, the upgraded city saw rapid urban growth, which is defining until today. After the German reunification in 1990, Suhl lost its administrative functions when Thuringia was refounded and replaced the Bezirks. Furthermore, the industry collapsed. Both led to a structural crises, which isn't overcome yet. The population of Suhl declined about 35% since 1988. The metal processing of Suhl naturally led, during

14364-488: The south-east. Furthermore, there are two important secondary roads to Mühlhausen via Mihla in the north and to Herleshausen in the west through the Hörsel valley. Downtown traffic is concentrated on Rennbahn street, which often leads to congestion due to a large number of commuters and the town's narrow topography. The next local airports are the Erfurt-Weimar Airport , about 50 km (31 mi) to

14497-537: The sport. It hosts Germany's only school for armorers, and a well equipped museum of weapons. Suhl is located on the south-western edge of the Thuringian Forest . To the south-west, the Small Thuringian Forest (some foothills of the Thuringian forest) is situated. The terrain is mountainous to all directions, some important mountains are: the Großer Beerberg (983 m, highest one in Thuringia) in

14630-600: The territories held by the Franconian counts of Henneberg since the 11th century. Suhl was located on an important trade route from Gotha , Erfurt and Arnstadt passing the Thuringian Forest mountain range at Oberhof and continuing to the Henneberg's residence, Schleusingen . From 1500 onwards, the Henneberg lands belonged to the Franconian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. Suhl has been

14763-424: The town centre runs the wide Werra valley, where the Hörsel river enters this bigger river near Hörschel district. The southern municipal territory is covered with forest, same as some smaller parts north of the Hörsel river. The Hainich mountains begin 10 km (6 mi) north-east of Eisenach. Eisenach abuts the municipalities Krauthausen , Mihla , Lauterbach , Bischofroda and Berka vor dem Hainich in

14896-425: The town extended further to the north on the other bank of Hörsel river, where some new residential areas were developed before 1990. The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Hans-Peter Brodhun of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 2000. He was succeeded by fellow CDU member Gerhard Schneider from 2000 and 2006. Matthias Doht of the Social Democratic Party (SPD)

15029-404: The typical reddish molasse sediments (conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, and claystones) of the Rotliegend. The Little Thuringian Forest (German: Kleiner Thüringer Wald ) is a narrow horst south of Suhl and northwest of Schleusingen , northwest of Schleuse river, embedded in the Triassic foothills of Southern Thuringia. It is oriented roughly parallel to the Thuringian Forest and, while

15162-468: The unemployment rate declined from 16% in 2006 to 7% in 2013, which is one of the lowest rates among Thuringia's major cities. Due to the official atheism in former GDR , most of the population is non-religious. 12.6% are members of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and 2.5% are Catholics (according to 2011 EU census). The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Martin Kummer of

15295-460: The upper Devonian were subjected to intense metamorphosis during the Variscan uplift and are now mostly present in the form of gneiss or schist . The Oberhof trough is by far the largest of the main geologic parts of the Thuringian Forest. It consists of the uplifted part of the so-called Thuringian Forest Basin whose contents can be further subdivided into several formations. Their relative ages have not been fully resolved yet, partly because

15428-402: The valleys of the rivers Schilfwasser and Schmalkalde and passes through Kleinschmalkalden and state road 1028 between Georgenthal and Floh-Seligenthal which follows the valleys of the rivers Apfelstädt and Flohbach divide the area into segments. In this area the mountain ridge becomes more pronounced. The summit of Großer Inselsberg of volcanic origin causes a marked shift of the ridge towards

15561-502: The vehicle production was another pillar of the local industry. After the reunification in 1990, the industry collapsed and the most factories got closed. Important companies of today are CDA , a producer of data replication media, Zimbo , a meat producer, Gramss , an industrial bakery, Paragon , a car parts supplier, and Merkel , the last remained arms producer in Suhl. In 2012, there were 27 companies in industrial production with more than 20 workers employing 2,000 persons and generating

15694-482: The war. The US Army arrived in Eisenach on 6 April 1945, but the Soviets took over control of the town on 1 July 1945, making it Communism's westernmost major town. Eisenach was part of the GDR after 1949. The Inner German border ran only ten kilometres west of Eisenach and was closed in 1952, cutting off parts of Eisenach's traditional hinterland. The location near the border inhibited the further development during

15827-408: The western German conurbations. Like other eastern German cities, Suhl has only a small amount of foreign population: around 1.5% are non-Germans by citizenship and overall 3.9% are migrants (according to 2011 EU census ). Differing from the national average, the biggest groups of migrants in Suhl are Russians and Vietnamese people . During recent years, the economic situation of the city improved:

15960-622: The western slope of Großer Beerberg and runs southward through the northern city parts before it joins the Lauter at the northern city centre. Suhl sits on the southern edge of the Suhler Scholle, an upthrust granite complex that is streaked by numerous dikes . This is part of the Ruhla-Schleusingen Horst that defines the southwest side of the Thuringian Forest . The southwest side of the Suhler Scholle abuts horizontal sedimentary layers, Buntsandstein ( sandstone from

16093-489: Was +6.5 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: -0.8; national average: +4.6). The most important regions of origin of people who have moved to Eisenach are rural areas of Thuringia as well as foreign countries like Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. Like in other eastern German cities, only a small share of Eisenach's population is foreign: circa 2.3% are non-Germans by citizenship and overall 4.9% are classified as "migrants" (according to

16226-695: Was an important step both for the German Reformation and the development of a consistent German standard language. Luther referred to Eisenach as ein Pfaffennest ("a clerical backwater"), since during his time there were 300 monks and nuns per 1,000 inhabitants. In 1525, there was heavy fighting in the area during the Bauernkrieg . In 1528, the Lutheran Reformation was implemented in Eisenach. In 1596, Eisenach became

16359-468: Was annulled after the opening of both Autobahns and is now a secondary road. Other important secondary roads run to Meiningen in the west and Ilmenau in the east. Biking is getting more and more popular since the construction of quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s. For tourism serve the Hasel track from Suhl to the Werra valley near Meiningen. Furthermore, there are some mountainbiking tracks within

16492-442: Was built at the northern periphery of Eisenach between 1978 and 1985 with nearly 4,000 housing units. In 1975, the tramway system was discontinued. After German reunification in 1990, the economic situation changed. The car factory was taken over by Opel , whereas many other factories were closed. On the other hand, Eisenach moved from the inner German border to the centre of the reunified country. Tourism saw significant growth and

16625-507: Was elected mayor in 2006. In 2012, Katja Wolf of The Left won the mayoralty, becoming the first female mayor in Eisenach's history. After defecting to the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance in 2023, she retired as mayor to run for the 2024 Thuringian state election . The most recent mayoral election was held on 26 May 2024, with a runoff held on 9 June, and the results were as follows: The most recent city council election

16758-713: Was founded in 1896. In the German Democratic Republic , the Wartburg was produced here, before the factory was acquired by Opel in 1990. Eisenach is situated on the Hörsel river, a tributary of the Werra between the Thuringian Forest in the south, the Hainich mountains in the north-east and the East Hesse Highlands in the north-west. Since January 2021, it is part of the Wartburgkreis . Eisenach's origin and early history

16891-482: Was given up as unprofitable due to difficult drainage. Large baryte deposits prospected in the 1950s have remained untouched. The Waltershausen foothills (German: Waltershäuser Vorberge ) are a wooded chain of Buntsandstein hills immediately north of and parallel to the Thuringian Forest between Eisenach, Waltershausen, Friedrichroda, and Georgenthal. An outcrop of Muschelkalk rock can be found in their northern part, south of Waltershausen. They are generally regarded

17024-537: Was held on 26 May 2024, and the results were as follows: Eisenach is twinned with: Eisenach is connected by the Thuringian Railway to Erfurt and Halle / Leipzig to the east and to Kassel and Frankfurt to the west. Furthermore, there is the Werra Railway , a former main-line railway between north and south Germany from Eisenach via Meiningen to Eisfeld , which since the division of Germany after World War II has served only for regional transport. At

17157-665: Was part of the Saxonian tectonic processes and is understood as a long range effect of the Alpine orogeny . It began in the upper Cretaceous era and ended in the late Tertiary after about 40 million years. Thuringian forest is surrounded on three sides by triassic rocks: the Thuringian Basin in the northeast, the Hesse Highlands in the west, and the northeastern parts of the South German Scarplands in

17290-565: Was referred to as "Isinacha". During the 1180s, the town was established by the construction of three independent market settlements around the Saturday's market (today's Karlsplatz), the Wednesday's market (today's Frauenplan) and the Monday's market (today's Marktplatz). Due to its convenient location at a bottleneck between the Thuringian Forest in the south and the Hainich mountains in

17423-445: Was reformed. Eisenach currently has six state-run and one Protestant primary schools. There are two types of secondary school in Germany. The gymnasium prepares students for higher education at a university and students graduate after a total of 12 or 13 years of education with an Abitur . There are two public and one evangelical gymnasium in Eisenach named after personalities of the cities history: Another form of secondary school

17556-486: Was the period with the fastest urban growth in Eisenach. The Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach (FFE), later Automobilwerk Eisenach , basis of car production in Eisenach, was founded in 1896, the first trams ran in 1897, the Burschenschaftsdenkmal  [ de ] ("fraternity monument") was erected in 1902 and the J. S. Bach museum opened in 1907. Tourists also started to arrive in this period, drawn by

17689-482: Was uplifted as one of the fault blocks in the Saxonian tectonic era and is filled with Variscan molasses , named Eisenach formation after the location. It consists mostly of monotonous sequences of reddish conglomerates representing a proximal alluvial fan which originated in debris flows from the Ruhla anticline. Dated in the upper Rotliegend, the Eisenach formation consists of some of the youngest geological units in

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