Friedrichroda () is a town in the district of Gotha,

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is situated at the north foot of the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...

, 21 km by rail southwest of the town of

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. It is surrounded by fir-clad hills and possesses numerous handsome villa residences, a Kurhaus and a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

. In the immediate neighborhood is the beautiful ducal hunting seat of

Reinhardsbrunn Reinhardsbrunn in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in the German state of Thuringia, is the site of a formerly prominent Benedictine abbey, the house monastery of the Ludovingian Landgraves of Thuringia abbey extant between 1085 and 1525. Later used as ...

, built out of the ruins of the famous

Benedictine monastery , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

founded in 1085. On 1 December 2007, the former municipalities

Ernstroda Ernstroda is a former municipality in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 December 2007, it is part of the town Friedrichroda. See also *Reinhardsbrunn Reinhardsbrunn in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in the German state of Thuring ...

and Finsterbergen were incorporated by Friedrichroda.

History

Within the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

(1871–1918), Friedrichroda was part of the Duchy of

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...

Development of first jet flying wing aircraft

During the late years of World War II, Friedrichroda was the site of manufacture of the mock-up production of the double-seat, all-weather fighter version of the

Horten Ho 229 The Horten H.IX, RLM designation Ho 229 (or Gotha Go 229 for extensive re-design work done by Gotha to prepare the aircraft for mass production) was a German prototype fighter/bomber initially designed by Reimar and Walter Horten to be built ...

V4 and V5 (Versions 4 and 5)

flying wing A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage, with its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment housed inside the main wing structure. A flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blis ...

jet aircraft. The only surviving example of the Horten jet is the Horten Ho 229 V3. In December 2011, the Horten V3 was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution's Paul E. Garber Restoration Facility in Suitland, MD.

Gallery

Thuringia asv2020-07 Friedrichroda town img5.jpg, Friedrichroda "Blasius" church Friedrichroda-Steinkopf.JPG, Stone head Friedrichroda Denkmal Bombenopfer.JPG, Memorial for victims of an air raid in Friedrichroda

Notable people

Karsten Albert Karsten Albert (born 13 October 1968) is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2003. He won a silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2001 FIL World Luge Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Albert also won three medals at ...

(born 1968), luger * Marko Baacke (born 1980), Nordic combiner *

Ilona Brand Ilona Brand (born 17 April 1958) is an East German luger who competed during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She won two medals in the women's singles event at the FIL European Luge Championships with a silver in 1979 and a bronze in 1980. ...

(born 1958 as Ilona Oeckel), luger *

Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann (17 June 1805 – 1 October 1864) was a German musical instrument maker and inventor, often credited with inventing the harmonica and also the accordion. Biography Thuringia Buschmann was born in Friedric ...

(1805–1864), musical instrument maker (

Terpodion The terpodion or uranion is a keyboard instrument which produces sound using the same friction principle as the glass harmonica. Instead of rotating glass bells a wooden cylinder is rotating. This cylinder is coated with a special mixture. Only ...

Harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

) *

Käte Duncker Käte Duncker (born Paula Kathinka Döll; 23 May 1871 – 2 May 1953) was a German political and feminist activist who became a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany and then the Communist Party of Germany. Life Provenance and ...

(1871–1953), politician, women's lawyer, visited the Higher School of Daughters * Johann Georg Eccarius (1818–1889), worker activist and trade unionist *

Katrin Göring-Eckardt Katrin Dagmar Göring-Eckardt (born Katrin Dagmar Eckardt; 3 May 1966) is a German politician of the German Green Party (officially known as Alliance 90/The Greens). Starting her political activity in the now-former German Democratic Republic (E ...

(born 1966 as Katrin Dagmar Eckardt), politician (The Greens) and Vice Bundestag president 2005–2013 * Ralph Gebstedt (born 1971), ski jumper *

Tatjana Hüfner Tatjana Hüfner (born 30 April 1983) is a German retired luger who has competed since 2003. Career She won the bronze medal in the women's singles at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. ...

(born 1983), luger, Olympic champion in the single-seater *

Sandra Hüller Sandra Hüller (; born 30 April 1978) is a German actress. She gained critical praise for her portrait of Anneliese Michel in Hans-Christian Schmid's drama ''Requiem'' (2006), and is best known internationally for her starring role in Maren Ad ...

(born 1978), actress, grew up in Friedrichroda * Philipp Klewin (born 1993), footballer *

Helene Lange Helene Lange (9 April 1848 in Oldenburg – 13 May 1930 in Berlin) was a pedagogue and feminist. She is a symbolic figure of the international and German civil rights feminist movement. In the years from 1919 to 1921 she was a member of the Hamb ...

(1848–1930), teacher and pioneer of women's education *

Anna-Maria Müller Anna-Maria Müller (later Murach, 23 February 1949 – 23 August 2009) was an East German luger who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. At the pr ...

(1949–2009), luger *

Auguste Schmidt Auguste Schmidt, full name, ''Friederike Wilhelmine Auguste Schmidt, ''(3 August 1833, Breslau, then Germany now Poland – 10 June 1902, Leipzig, Germany) was a pioneering German feminist, educator, journalist and women's rights activist. Life ...

(1833–1902), teacher and writer * Melitta Sollmann (born 1958), luger *

Marion Thees Marion Thees (born Marion Trott on 5 July 1984 in Eisenach) is a German retired skeleton racer who has competed since 2001. She won two golds at the 2009 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid, New York, earning them in the women's skeleton an ...

(born 1984), skeleton pilot

References

External links

* Gotha (district) Saxe-Coburg and Gotha {{Gotha-geo-stub