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 lar ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

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 Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

Vogtland Vogtland (; cz, Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former ...

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...

Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river '' White Elster''. Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürs ...

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river '' White Elster''. Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürs ...

(upstream) and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

(downstream). Gera is located in the

Central German Metropolitan Region The Central German Metropolitan Region (german: Metropolregion Mitteldeutschland) is one of the officially established metropolitan regions in Germany. It is centered on the major cities of Leipzig and Halle, extending over Central German parts ...

, approximately south of Saxony's largest city of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, east of Thuringia's capital

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

, west of Saxony's capital

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and 90 km (56 miles) north of Bavaria's city of

Hof (Saale) Hof () is a town on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the Germany, German state of Bavaria, in the Franconian region, at the Czech Republic, Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions. The town h ...

. First mentioned in 995 and developing into a city during the 13th century, Gera has historical significance as being one of the main residences of the Ducal

House of Reuss Reuss (german: Reuß , ) was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Several lordships of the Holy Roman Empire which arose after 1300 and became Imperial Counties from 1673 and Imperial Principalities in ...

and subsequently the capital of the

Principality of Reuss-Gera The Principality of Reuss-Gera (german: Fürstentum Reuß-Gera), called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line (german: Fürstentum Reuß jüngerer Linie) after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Re ...

(1848-1918) and of the

People's State of Reuss The People's State of Reuss (german: Volksstaat Reuß) was a short-lived state in what is now Thuringia. The state was formed on 4 April 1919 after the reigning princes of the two Reuss principalities abdicated and elections were held in both ...

(1918-1920), one of the many microstates the Thuringian region consisted of, before they were unified to form Thuringia in 1920. Over the 19th century, Gera became a centre of the textile industry and saw a period of rapid growth. In 1952, the city also became an administrative centre in GDR as one of the capitals of Gera administrative district (Bezirk). In 1990, Gera became part of re-established Thuringia. The loss of its administrative functions as well as its industrial core (caused both by structural change among the European textile industry and the economic system change after the German reunification) precipitated the city's slide into an enduring economic crisis. Since 1990, many of Gera's buildings have been restored and big urban planning programmes like the Bundesgartenschau 2007 were implemented to stimulate Gera's economy. Sights include some retained buildings of the royal residence epoque and many public and private buildings from the economic heyday between 1870 and 1930. The famous painter

Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Along with George ...

was born in Gera in 1891.

History

Middle Ages

The place name ''Gera'' originally referred to the area of the Elster river valley where the city stands now. The name most likely originated before the European Migration Period – the people who first settled the area during the 8th century adopted the name. The first known documentary mention of Gera dates from 995. In 999 Emperor Otto III assigned the "province" of Gera to the

Quedlinburg Abbey Quedlinburg Abbey (german: Stift Quedlinburg or ) was a house of secular canonesses ''(Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of the East Frankis ...

. In turn, the church assigned the protectorship of this area in 1209 to the

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

s of Weida (in German: ''Vögte von Weida'') who served as its administrators. The Vogts of Weida were the ancestors of the Reussians, who ruled Gera until 1918. Gera was first mentioned as a town in 1237, though it is unclear in which year Gera got the municipal law. The small town got circumvallated in the 13th century on an area of 350 x 350 m and the Vogts' city castle was built in the south-western corner at today's Burgstraße. A municipal seal was first used in 1350, the council was first named in 1360 and the town hall was mentioned in 1426. The abbess of Quedlinburg remained the formal sovereign of Gera until 1358, as the Wettins followed her up. The Vogt's couldn't emancipate themselves from Wettin rule. In 1450, Gera was almost totally destroyed during the

Saxon Fratricidal War The Saxon Fratricidal WarThis translation is employed by the Museum Leuchtenburg in thei (German: ''Sächsischer Bruderkrieg'') was a war fought between the two brothers Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Duke William III over Wettin ruled area ...

, but it could recuperate quick because the starting textile manufacture brought wealth to the town. Luftaufnahme Schreibersches Haus Gera

Early modern period

The

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

was introduced in Gera in 1533 against the will of the Vogts by the Wettins. After the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

in 1546, the Wettins lost Gera to the Bohemian Crown, who however had no influence on the city, so that the Vogts resp. the Reussians (which arose from the Vogts in the mid-16th century) as indeed rulers were strengthened. During the 16th century, some cloth-makers from the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...

migrated to Gera as religious refugees at Count Henry's invitation and raised the textile business in Gera. In the 18th century, there was a first peak in this industry (

Putting-out system The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote w ...

), which can be seen today at the large agents houses. In 1673, the Reussians were raised to

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s which granted them full sovereignty within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

; Gera became their royal residence. In 1686 and 1780, big town fires destroyed most buildings in Gera. The town was rebuilt relatively uniform during the 1780s in late-Baroque style, which marks the inner city until today. In 1806

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

established his Imperial Headquarters at Gera during the

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, ...

. From here, on October 12, 1806, the French Emperor purposely sent an arrogant and threatening letter to King Frederick William III of Prussia – a letter that enticed

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

to war and a crushing defeat at the Battle of Jena a few days later.

Since 1815

The Gera line of Reussians died out in 1802, so that it had no royal residence until the new one moved there from

Schleiz Schleiz is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany. The former municipality Crispendorf was merged into Schleiz in January 2019, and Burgk in December 2019. Location Schleiz is in the Thuringian Vogtland area, an ar ...

in 1848. From 1848 to 1918 Gera served as the capital of the

Principality of Reuss-Gera The Principality of Reuss-Gera (german: Fürstentum Reuß-Gera), called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line (german: Fürstentum Reuß jüngerer Linie) after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Re ...

. With the industrial revolution in the mid-19th century, Gera grew rapidly, due largely to its textile industry, which saw the first Power loom installed in 1836. In 1859, Gera was first connected by railway to Halle via

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded u ...

and

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle. History Perhaps the fir ...

. During the following decades, rail lines in all directions made Gera to a transport hub, and the town kept growing. The second electric tram in Germany was installed in Gera in 1892. After World War I, during the German Revolution of 1918–19, the prince of Reuss was forced to abdicate and as the resultant "

Republic of Reuss The People's State of Reuss (german: Volksstaat Reuß) was a short-lived state in what is now Thuringia. The state was formed on 4 April 1919 after the reigning princes of the two Reuss principalities abdicated and elections were held in both ...

" joined the newly founded state of

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 lar ...

in 1920. After the incorporation of some suburbs in the 1910s and 1920s Gera, with some 80,000 inhabitants, was the largest city in Thuringia, although the more centrally located

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

became its capital. Gera Germany during American occupation in 1945

After the Nazi takeover of Germany, the Jewish community of Gera was destroyed, the synagogue burnt down in the

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

in 1938 and the city's Jews emigrated or were murdered in

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. A month before the end of World War II, on 6 April 1945, U.S. bombing destroyed parts of the city and killed 514 residents. Some 300 buildings were hit, including the Osterstein castle and several historic buildings in city centre, many of which weren't rebuilt after the war. U.S. forces occupied Gera on 14 April 1945 but were replaced by the Soviets on 1 July 1945. Gera became part of the GDR in 1949 and was a flash point in the

Uprising of 1953 in East Germany The East German uprising of 1953 (german: Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953 ) was an uprising that occurred in East Germany from 16 to 17 June 1953. It began with a strike action by construction workers in East Berlin on 16 June against w ...

as thousands of workers – among them many employees of the Soviet-established Wismut

uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account f ...

entity in the nearby Ore Mountains (''Erzgebirge'') – demanded higher wages and free elections. The demonstrations were put down by Soviet military forces, including armored units. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-N0617-0323, Gera, Wohnblocks

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-N0617-0323, Gera, Wohnblocks

With governmental reorganization in East Germany, the city became the capital of the newly created District of Gera in 1952. The population rose during the GDR period, and massive ''

Plattenbau (plural: , german: Platte + Bau, lit=panel/slab' + 'building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of (in this context: panel) and (building). Such buildings are often found ...

'' prefabricated apartment blocks, built throughout East Germany, were constructed in Gera. After German reunification in 1990, Gera became part of the restored state of Thuringia. However, Gera lost most of its administrative functions after reunification, and nearly all the city's factories were closed. This led to a continuing economic crisis with significant unemployment, and the city's population declined from 135,000 in 1990 to less than 100,000 a decade later. The city hosted the Bundesgartenschau (federal horticultural exhibition) in 2007.

Geography and demographics

Topography

Gera is located in a smooth-hilly landscape in eastern Thuringia at the

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

Thuringian Highland The Thuringian Highland, Thuringian Highlands or Thuringian-Vogtlandian Slate MountainsKohl, Horst; Marcinek, Joachim and Nitz, Bernhard (1986). ''Geography of the German Democratic Republic'', VEB Hermann Haack, Gotha, p. 7 ff. . (german: Thüring ...

approx. in the south-west, the Ore Mountains approx. in the south-east and the

Leipzig Bay The Leipzig BayDickinson (1964), p. 29.above sea level for the city appears as when measured at the market place. Small tributaries of the White Elster river within the borders of Gera are the ''Erlbach'' on the western side and the ''Wipsenbach'', ''Gessenbach'' and ''Brahme'' on the eastern side.

Climate

Gera has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Dfb) or an oceanic climate (''Cfb'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system. ''(direct
Final Revised Paper
'' Summers are warm and sometimes humid, winters are relatively cold. The city's topography creates a microclimate caused through the basin position with sometimes

inversion Inversion or inversions may refer to: Arts * , a French gay magazine (1924/1925) * ''Inversion'' (artwork), a 2005 temporary sculpture in Houston, Texas * Inversion (music), a term with various meanings in music theory and musical set theory * ...

in winter (quite cold nights under ) and heat and inadequate air circulation in summer. Annual precipitation is only with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Light snowfall mainly occurs from December through February, but snow cover does not usually remain for long.

Administrative division

Gera abuts the following municipalities: * in the

Burgenlandkreis Burgenlandkreis is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . History The district was established as Landkreis Burgenland by the merger of the former Burgenlandkreis and Landkreis Weißenfels as part of the reform of 2007. On 16 ...

district in the north:

Wetterzeube Wetterzeube is a municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed the former municipalities Breitenbach and Haynsburg Haynsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis ...

and

Gutenborn Gutenborn is a municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2010 by the merger of the former municipalities Bergisdorf, Droßdorf, Heuckewalde and Schellbach.Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

* in the

Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river '' White Elster''. Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürs ...

district in the east:

Pölzig Pölzig is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, 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 ...

, Hirschfeld,

Brahmenau Brahmenau is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, 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 t ...

,

Schwaara Schwaara is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. The town is member of the municipal association Am Brahmetal Am Brahmetal is a ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Greiz, in Thur ...

,

Korbußen Korbußen is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, 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 t ...

, Ronneburg,

Kauern Kauern is a German municipality in the Thuringian Landkreis of Greiz. It belongs to the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft of Wünschendorf/Elster. Geography Neighboring municipalities Communities near Kauern are Hilbersdorf and Ronneburg in the Landk ...

,

Hilbersdorf Hilbersdorf is a German municipality in the Thuringian district of Greiz. It belongs to the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft of Wünschendorf/Elster and lies in upper Wipsetal. Geography From Hilbersdorf, one can reach Gera, Linda bei Weida, and Ronneb ...

and

Linda Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

; in the south:

Endschütz Endschütz is a German municipality in the Thuringian district of Greiz. It belongs to the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft of Ländereck. Geography Neighboring municipalities Communities near Endschütz include the City of Berga (Elster), Linda bei W ...

, Wünschendorf, Zedlitz and Hundhaupten; in the west:

Saara Saara may refer to: Places * Saara, Estonia, a village in Lääne-Viru County, Estonia * Saara, Greiz, a municipality in Thuringia, Germany * Saara, Altenburger Land, a municipality in Thuringia, Germany Other * ''Saara'' (lizard), a genus of l ...

, Kraftsdorf, Hartmannsdorf and

Bad Köstritz Bad Köstritz is a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 7 km northwest of Gera. Bad Köstritz is known for the Köstritzer brewery and its Schwarzbier (black beer). History The ...

* in the

Saale-Holzland Saale-Holzland (official German name: Saale-Holzland-Kreis) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the district Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, the district-free city Ger ...

district:

Silbitz Silbitz is a municipality in the district Saale-Holzland, in Thuringia, Germany. References

Municipalities in Thuringia Saale-Holzland-Kreis {{SaaleHolzland-geo-stub ...

in the north-west. Gera is divided in different ways. Historically, there are more than 60 villages in the densely settled Elster valley area belonging to Gera today. The actual division knows on the one hand statistical districts and on the other hand political districts. The 12 statistical districts are covering the whole city area and consist of (sometimes) several political districts, urban quarters and/or rural villages. The 16 political districts are covering only few parts of Gera, but not the central urban areas, instead usually rural districts got incorporated during the second half of the 20th century. Each political district can (but doesn't have to) consist of more than one village. Each political district elects an own district council and a district mayor, whereas the statistical districts don't have any political function. The main urban quarters are the city centre, Untermhaus (incorporated 1919) in the west, Langenberg (1950), Tinz (1919) and Bieblach (1905) in the north, Leumnitz (1919) in the east, Pforten (1919) and Zwötzen (1919) in the south-east as well as Debschwitz (1912) and Lusan (1919) in the south-west.

Demographics

During the centuries, Gera has been a quite small town of 2,000 inhabitants. As the textile business saw a first peak, the population rose to 7,000 in 1800 and further to 17,000 after the early stage of industrialisation in 1870. Gera's heyday between 1870 and 1930 led to a demographic boom with a population of 83,000 at the end of this phase in 1930. In 1950, Gera had 98,000 inhabitants and the all-time peak was reached in 1988 with a population of 135,000. After the German reunification in 1990, the city saw a significant decline in population, despite the large incorporations of 1994. The population shrunk to 113,000 in 2000 and 95,000 in 2012. The average decrease of population between 2009 and 2012 was approximately 0.55% p. a, whereas the population in bordering rural regions is shrinking with accelerating tendency.

Suburbanization Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...

played only a small role in Gera. It occurred after the reunification for a short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas were situated within the administrative city borders. During the 1990s and the 2000s, many inhabitants left Gera to search a better life in west Germany or other major east German cities like

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

or

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. Since 2010, emigration is no big issue anymore. Now, the birth deficit, caused by the high average age of the population, is getting a bigger problem because the immigration isn't sufficient to compensate it yet. Despite urban planning activities to tear down unused flats, vacancy is still a problem with rates around 12% (according to 2011 EU census). A positive side effect for the inhabitants is that Gera has one of the lowest rent levels in Germany. The birth deficit was 715 in 2012, this is -7.5 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: -4.5; national average: -2.4). The net migration rate was +3.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: -0.8; national average: +4.6). The most important regions of origin of Gera migrants are bordering rural areas of Thuringia,

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

and

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

as well as foreign countries like Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. Like other eastern German cities, Gera has only a small amount of foreign population: circa 1.6% are non-Germans by citizenship and overall 5.0% are migrants (according to 2011 EU census). Differing from the national average, the biggest groups of migrants in Gera are

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

,

Vietnamese people The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native la ...

and

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

. During recent years, the economic situation of the city improved a bit: the unemployment rate declined from 22% in 2005 to 11% in 2013, which is still the highest one out of all Thuringian districts. Due to the official atheism in former GDR, most of the population is non-religious. 9.8% are members of the

Evangelical Church in Central Germany The Evangelical Church in Central Germany (German: ''Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland''; ''EKM'') is a United church body covering most of the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia and some adjacent areas in Brandenburg and Saxony. ...

and 2.6% are Catholics (according to 2011 EU census) making one of the world's lowest amounts of religious people.

Culture, sights and cityscape

Museums

There are some museums in Gera: * The ''Orangerie'' at Orangerieplatz hosts an exhibition of art from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period. * The ''Otto-Dix-Haus'' (“Otto Dix House”) at Mohrenplatz 4, birthplace and childhood home of the famous artist

Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Along with George ...

, has a collection of his drawings, prints, paintings and childhood sketch books, and an exhibition about his life. * The ''Museum für Angewandte Kunst'' (Museum for Applied Arts) at Greizer Straße shows 20th century contemporary art (inside "Ferber House"). It displays collections of

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

ceramics by the artists

Otto Lindig Otto Lindig (4 January 1895, in Pößneck – 4 July 1966, in Wiesbaden) was a German master potter who was a student and later a workshop manager at the famous Bauhaus art school in Weimar, Germany. Background Lindig was born in Pößneck, Ger ...

und Theodor Bogler; architectural works of Thilo Schoder; and photographs by

Aenne Biermann Aenne Biermann (March 8, 1898 – January 14, 1933), born Anna Sibilla Sternfeld, was a German photographer of Ashkenazi origin. She was one of the major proponents of New Objectivity, a significant art movement that developed in Germany in th ...

. * The ''Museum für Naturkunde'' (Natural History Museum) at Nicolaiberg hosts a natural history exhibition (inside the "Schreiber House", the oldest building in the city), with its adjacent

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, the Botanischer Garten Gera * The ''Stadtmuseum'' (city museum) at Museumsplatz shows an exhibition of Gera's municipal history. * The ''Haus Schulenburg'' (Schulenburg House) at Straße des Friedens is a factory owner's mansion, built in 1913/14 by the famous architect

Henry van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium ...

. It hosts topical furniture and decoration and can be visited.

Image gallery

File:Orangerie in Gera.jpg, Orangerie File:Gera - Otto Dix Haus.jpg, Otto Dix House File:Gera - Ferbersches Haus.JPG, Museum for Applied Arts File:Gera - Schreibersches Haus 2009.jpg, Natural History Museum File:Stadtmuseum Gera.JPG, City museum File:Villa Schulenburg Gera.JPG, Schulenburg House

Cityscape

Like its western neighbour-city

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

, Gera is a protracted city along a wide valley in south-northern direction. The historic city centre is quite small and located between Sorge in the north, Nicolaistraße in the east, Stadtgraben in the south and Reichsstraße in the west. It survived World War II, but during the 1960s and 1970s, the GDR government demolished larger inner-city areas to rebuild them with modern concrete architecture, which marks the view of Gera's centre, particularly in the north-west until today. Between 1870 and 1930, the city was largely extended in all directions. As distinct from other German cities, there is no citywide spatial separation between the worker's quarters and the upper-class mansion districts, instead, the mansions and the tenements are situated near to each other, spread over all the districts. The hilly areas and those next to the river and the parks are more upscale, whereas the areas next to the railway and the factories are more working-class styled. Nevertheless, the ''

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

'' architecture is quite diverse and interesting in Gera. Most buildings were extensively refurbished after 1990. Especially Gera's mansion architecture from the 1900s and 1910s is unique. The 1920s brought some modern-style ''

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

'' buildings to the then rich city. During the GDR period, urban growth was handled by establishing big ''

Plattenbau (plural: , german: Platte + Bau, lit=panel/slab' + 'building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of (in this context: panel) and (building). Such buildings are often found ...

'' settlements on the city's periphery, like the Lusan district in south and the Bieblach district in north.

Image gallery

File:Friedrich engels strasse gera.jpg, ''Gründerzeit'' architecture at Friedrich Engels Street File:Villa eichenberg gera.JPG, Villa Eichenberg File:Villa hirsch gera.jpg, Villa Hirsch File:Buga07 VillaJahr.JPG, Villa Jahr (1905–1907) File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0327-315, Gera, Rundfunkgebäude.jpg, Meyer House (1927) File:Gera Privatklinik Schäfer.jpg, Former Schäfer Hospital, Bauhaus style (1929)

Sights and architectural heritage

Churches

* The ''St. Saviour's Church'' at Nicolaiberg is the evangelical main church of Gera, built between 1717 and 1720 by

David Schatz David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

in Baroque style. * The ''Trinity Church'' at Heinrichstraße is an evangelical parish church (since 1886), built between 1609 and 1611 as cemetery church. * The ''St. John's Church'' at Clara-Zetkin-Straße is an evangelical parish church, built between 1881 and 1885 in neo-Gothic style. * The ''St. Mary's Church'' at Untermhaus district is the evangelical parish church of the former village Untermhaus, built around 1450. * The ''St. Elizabeth's Church'' at Kleiststraße is the catholic parish church of Gera, built in 2000 in modern style as one of only few bigger new churches in Thuringia after 1990. * The ''St. Martin's Church'' at Zwötzen district is an evangelical parish church, built in 1895 in neo-Gothic style. * The ''Fourteen Holy Helpers Church'' at Langenberg district is an evangelical parish church, was rebuilt during the 1750s.

Image gallery

File:Gera - Salvatorkirche.jpg, St. Saviour's Church File:Trinitatiskirche Gera.jpg, Trinity Church File:Gera - Johanniskirche.jpg, St. John's Church File:Gera Untermhaus St. Marienkirche (2007).JPG, St. Mary's Church File:Zwötzen, Kirche.JPG, St. Martin's Church File:Kirche-Langenberg.jpg, Fourteen Holy Helpers Church

Other sights

* The ''town hall'' at Marktplatz (market square) is one of the biggest Renaissance town halls in Germany with a nearly 60 m high tower, built between 1573 and 1576. The Marktplatz itself forms a good ensemble of 18th century patricians houses in late-Baroque style. * Luftaufnahme Orangerie und Küchengarten (Gera)

Luftaufnahme Orangerie und Küchengarten (Gera)

The ''Stadttheater'' (city theatre) at Küchengartenallee is the former royal Reussian theatre, built in 1902 by

Heinrich Seeling Heinrich Seeling (1 October 1852 – 15 February 1932) was a German architect. Life He was born the son of a bricklayer in the Thuringian town of Zeulenroda, then part of the sovereign Principality of Reuss within the German Confederation. Seeli ...

in neo-Baroque style. * The ''Stadtapotheke'' (city pharmacy) is a Renaissance building at Marktplatz with a beautiful bay, established in 1592. * The ''Küchengarten'' (literally “Kitchen Garden”) with the ''Orangerie'' is a park ensemble west of the city centre, established in 1732 by the Reussians. * The ''Höhler'' is a cellar system under the city centre with a length of approx. , established in 17th and 18th century for storing beer. A part can be visited via an entrance at Nicolaiberg 3. * The ''Schloss Tinz'' (Tinz Castle) was the royal summer residence of the Reussians, built in 1748 in Baroque style with a surrounding park. * The ''Schloss Osterstein'' (Osterstein Castle) was the main royal residence of the Reussians, built during the 16th century in Renaissance style. It was hit by bombs in 1945 and partially demolished in 1962. Only the tower remained. * The ''city wall'' was demolished in the 19th century, only a small part at Stadtgraben remained.

Image gallery

File:Gera Rathaus 2008-2.JPG, Town hall File:Gera Theater (2007).JPG, Theatre File:Luftaufnahme der Göttin Genius von links (Theater Gera).jpg, Statue of Genius on the theatre roof File:Gera - Stadtapotheke 2009.jpg, City Pharmacy File:Gera Orangerie (2007).jpg, Orangerie at Küchengarten File:Gera - Schloss Tinz.jpg, Tinz Castle File:Luftaufnahme Schloss Osterstein (Gera) – Draufsicht.jpg, Remains of Osterstein Castle File:Gera Osterstein Bergfried.JPG, Tower of Osterstein Castle File:Gera - Stadtmauer.JPG, City wall File:Ferberturm Gera.jpg, Ferber's Tower File:Sinfonieorchester Kiew im Hofwiesenpark Gera.jpg, Veolia Stage in Hofwiesenpark

Economy and infrastructure

Basic economic data

In 2022, 22544 people were employed full-time in Gera with a median salary of EUR 2,595.34. The median wage in Gera is 10% lower compared to eastern Germany.

Agriculture, industry and services

Agriculture has some importance in the rural districts of Gera, especially in the northern and eastern city parts. Approximately 57% of the municipal territory is in agricultural use: growing maize, rapeseed and crops as well as pasturing cattle. The city's economy features industrial machinery (Dagro Gera GmbH), communications (DTKS GmbH, Deutsche Telekom), security locks (Schloßsicherungen Gera GmbH), optics (POG Präzisionsoptik Gera GmbH), electrical equipment (Electronicon Kondensatoren GmbH), and margarine manufacturing (Othüna). Other companies include a compressor manufacturer (Kompressorenwerk Kaeser), a precision-tool maker (SMK-Präzisionsmechanik), and a subsidiary of the construction company Max Bögl. The e-commerce service-provider D+S Europe has a service centre in Gera with several hundred workers, and Rittal, a manufacturer of information-technology enclosures, moved from Bad Köstritz to Gera. Some industrial branches operating before 1990 no longer have major importance. Sectors either no longer existing or sharply reduced include those in toolmaking ( VEB Wema Union), textiles (VEB Modedruck), textile machinery (VEB Textima), electronic equipment (VEB Elektronik Gera). Other industries that had a presence included VEB Carl Zeiss Jena and a brewery. One important industrial branch had been uranium-ore mining in nearby Ronneburg ( Wismut), whereby the region became the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's leading uranium supplier. In 2012 Gera had 41 companies with more than 20 workers in the industrial sector, employing 3,400 people and generating an overall turnover of €452 million. Gera is a supra-centre according to the

Central Place Theory Central place theory is an urban geographical theory that seeks to explain the number, size and range of market services in a commercial system or human settlements in a residential system.Goodall, B. (1987) The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geo ...

in German regional planning. This makes the city a regional centre for retailing, with three major shopping centres: ''Gera-Arcaden'', ''Amthor-Passage'' and ''Elster-Forum''. Health services are important, with one of the biggest hospitals in Thuringia, the SRH Waldklinikum. Nevertheless, Gera's economy is weak compared to equal-sized neighbouring cities like

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

or

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

. While Jena counts 51,000 and Zwickau 50,000 jobs liable to pay into the German social insurance, Gera had only 35,000 of those full-time jobs in 2012. The commuter balance was +14,000 in Jena and +16,000 in Zwickau, but only +2,000 in Gera, which is one of the lowest ratios among German supra-centres, highlighting the lack of ability of Gera to provide jobs for the region. The unemployment rate reached 11.2% in September 2013 - the highest among all Thuringian districts.

Transport

By rail

Since the late 19th century, Gera has been a hub in the railway network. The first railway ran to the

Thuringian Railway Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon sp ...

in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle. History Perhaps the fir ...

(with connection to Halle) via

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded u ...

in 1859. Further main lines were opened to

Gößnitz Gößnitz () is a town in the Altenburger Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 12 km south of Altenburg, and 20 km northwest of Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), th ...

(with connection to Chemnitz) in 1865, to

Saalfeld Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography ...

in 1871, to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

(via Zeitz) in 1873, to

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...

in 1875, to

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

(with connection to

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

) via

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

in 1876 and to Hof in 1883. The secondary railways to

Werdau Werdau () is a town in Germany, part of the Landkreis Zwickau (district), Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 8 km from Zwickau. The town was mentioned as early as 1304, and in 1398 it was purchased by Frederick I, Elect ...

(opened in 1876) and

Meuselwitz Meuselwitz () is a town in the Altenburger Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 12 km northwest of Altenburg and 11 km east of Zeitz. History During World War II, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp operated ...

(opened via

Pölzig Pölzig is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, 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 ...

in 1901 and via

Lumpzig Lumpzig is a village and a former municipality in the district Altenburger Land, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Schmölln. References

Altenburger Land Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Former municipalities in ...

in 1887) are abandoned. Nevertheless, none of these lines are electrified or in use for long-distance trains. Today, there are regional express trains to

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

via Jena and Erfurt, to Leipzig via Zeitz, to Altenburg,

Glauchau Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...

and

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

via the Gößnitz line, to

Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river '' White Elster''. Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürs ...

, to Hof and to Saalfeld. Local trains provide connections to Weimar via Jena, Leipzig, Weischlitz (near Plauen), Hof and Saalfeld. The most lines run every two hours, so that there is hourly service (express and local trains in alternation) to most directions. The electrification of the west-eastern mainline Weimar – Jena – Gera – Gößnitz is in discussion for closing that gap in the network and enable Gera's connection to long-distance trains, which can be reached today either via Jena or via Leipzig. The most important stations in Gera are the '' Gera main station'' (former Prussian station), where all the trains stop, and the ''Gera southern station'' (former Saxonian station), where all the trains, except the local ones to Weimar, stop. More stations in Gera are ''Langenberg'' at the Leipzig line, ''Zwötzen'' at the Saalfeld and Hof line as well as ''Gera Ost'' and ''Liebschwitz'' at the Plauen line. Freight transport by rail is immaterial in Gera since the 1990s.

By road

The two Autobahnen crossing each other nearby at ''Hermsdorf junction'' are the

Bundesautobahn 4 is an autobahn that crosses Germany in a west–east direction. The western segment has a length of , the part in the east is long. Works to continue the A 4 are in progress, but currently no plans exist to fill the gap completely. T ...

(Frankfurt–Dresden) and the Bundesautobahn 9 (Berlin–Munich), which were both built during the 1930s. Furthermore, there are three

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...

n connecting Gera: the

Bundesstraße 2 The Bundesstraße 2 (abbr. B2) is Germany's longest federal highway, running some 1000 kilometres from the Polish border near Gartz to the Austrian border near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From north to south; it passes through major cities such a ...

to

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded u ...

in the north and Hof in the south, the

Bundesstraße 7 The Bundesstraße 7 (abbr. B7) is a German federal highway (Bundesstraße) that stretches from the Dutch border at Venlo in the West to Rochlitz near Chemnitz in the East. It is approximately long. Because of its western origin some stretches o ...

to

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

(via Eisenberg) in the west and to Altenburg in the east and the Bundesstraße 92 to

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...

(via

Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river '' White Elster''. Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürs ...

) in the south. Important secondary roads run to Altenburg (via

Lumpzig Lumpzig is a village and a former municipality in the district Altenburger Land, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Schmölln. References

Altenburger Land Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Former municipalities in ...

), to

Werdau Werdau () is a town in Germany, part of the Landkreis Zwickau (district), Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 8 km from Zwickau. The town was mentioned as early as 1304, and in 1398 it was purchased by Frederick I, Elect ...

(via

Linda Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

), to Wünschendorf, to

Stadtroda Stadtroda (Roda until 1925) is a town of 6,653 people (2017), located in Thuringia, Germany. Stadtroda lies on the river Roda, a tributary of the Saale. The former municipalities Bollberg and Quirla were merged into Stadtroda in January 2019. H ...

and to Hermsdorf. As part of the Bundesgartenschau 2007, a new bypass road was built in the east to improve the connection of southern city parts to the A 4 and to relieve the city centre from transit traffic.

By aviation

The closest regional airports are the

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport (German: ''Flughafen Leipzig/Halle'') is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is Germany's 14th largest airport by passengers and ...

, about north and the Erfurt-Weimar Airport, about west of Gera. Both serve mainly holiday flights. The nearest major airports are the

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...

, the

Munich Airport Munich International Airport- Franz Josef Strauß (german: link=no, Flughafen München) is an international airport serving Munich and Upper Bavaria. It is the second-busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic after Frankfurt A ...

and the prospective

Berlin Brandenburg Airport Berlin Brandenburg Airport ''Willy Brandt'' (german: Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg "Willy Brandt", , ) is an international airport in Schönefeld, just south of the German capital Berlin in the state of Brandenburg. Named after the former ...

. In the eastern part of Gera lies the airfield Gera-Leumnitz meant for private aviation.

By bike

Cycling is becoming more popular since the construction of quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s. For tourists, there are the ''Weiße Elster track'' and the ''Thuringian city string track (Radweg Thüringer Städtekette)''. Both connect points of tourist interest, the first along the

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

Elster Mountains The Elster Mountains (german: Elstergebirge, cs, Halštrovské hory) is a small range of mountains, in Saxony and the Czech Republic, to the west of the Ore Mountains. They lie in a region known as Vogtland, and take their name from the River E ...

at the Czech border to

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale ...

river in Halle and second from

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

via

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

,

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

,

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

and Gera to Altenburg. For inner city every-day traffic, some cycle lanes exist along several main streets.

Trams and buses

Gera, Leibnitzstrasse, ecke Cubaerstrasse - geo-en

The Gera tram network was the second in Germany that launched electrical engines in 1892. Today, there are two long lines, one from Bieblach via city centre to Lusan (line 3) and another one – opened in 2006 – from Untermhaus via city centre to Zwötzen (line 1). The third short line is a connection between Lusan and the Zwötzen railway station (line 2). Another line is planned to connect Langenberg and the northern city parts. On line 3 is one course every 5 minutes, on line 1 every 10 minutes and on line 2 every 20 minutes. The bus network connects districts without trams as well as neighbouring municipalities that do not have a rail connection. Luftaufnahme Rutheneum Gera Front

Education

Tertiary institutions are the private college ''SRH Fachhochschule für Gesundheit Gera'' (

university of applied sciences A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...

for health) with 500 students and the Gera branch of the Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach ( cooperative state college) with 850 students locally. Furthermore, there are four Gymnasiums, all of them are state-owned. The Goethe-Gymnasium/Rutheneum seit 1608 (“since 1608”) focuses on music education as an elite boarding school, in addition to the common curriculum.

Politics

The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Ralf Rauch Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

, who served from 1994 to 2006. He was succeeded by Norbert Vornehm of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SPD), who served from 2006 to 2012.

Viola Hahn ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

was elected in 2012, but was defeated seeking re-election in 2018, failing to progress to the second round. Julian Vonarb was elected, and has since served as mayor. The most recent mayoral election was held on 15 April 2018, with a runoff held on 29 April, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Julian Vonarb , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, 9,182 , 23.5 , 24,777 , 69.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Dieter Lauenbach , align=left, Alternative for Germany , 8,305 , 21.3 , 10,741 , 30.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Viola Hahn , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, 8,050 , 20.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Norbert Hein , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, 6,853 , 17.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Margit Jung , align=left, The Left , 5,201 , 13.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Nils Fröhlich , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 1,487 , 3.8 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 39,078 ! 99.2 ! 35,518 ! 98.2 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 299 ! 0.8 ! 653 ! 1.8 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 39,377 ! 100.0 ! 36,171 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 79,724 ! 49.4 ! 79,671 ! 45.4 , - , colspan=7, Source
Wahlen in Thüringen
The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Lead candidate ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , align=left, Harald Frank , 36,344 , 28.8 , New , 12 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , align=left, Andreas Schubert , 23,155 , 18.3 , 13.2 , 8 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , align=left, Christian Klein , 16,280 , 12.9 , 11.7 , 6 , 4 , - , , align=left, Citizenry Gera (BSG) , align=left, Ulrich Porst , 9,656 , 7.6 , 6.3 , 3 , 3 , - , , align=left, For Gera (FG) , align=left, Sandra Graupner , 8,588 , 6.8 , New , 3 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , align=left, Nils Fröhlich , 8,483 , 6.7 , 2.2 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SPD) , align=left, Heiner Fritzsche , 8,091 , 6.4 , 2.9 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Voters (FW) , align=left, Norbert Hein , 4,129 , 3.3 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Liberal Alliance (LA) , align=left, Anne Kathrin Hildebrand , 3,647 , 2.9 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (Germany), Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align=left, Falk Nerger , 3,440 , 2.7 , 0.3 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI) , align=left, Ingo Kaschta , 3,418 , 2.7 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, National Democratic Party of Germany, National Democratic Party (NPD) , align=left, Gordon Richter , 1,169 , 0.9 , 2.9 , 0 , 2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 42,808 ! 96.8 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,420 ! 3.2 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 44,228 ! 100.0 ! ! 42 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 78,537 ! 56.3 ! 12.7 ! ! , - , colspan=8, Source
Wahlen in Thüringen

Twin towns – sister cities

Gera is Sister city, twinned with: * Arnhem, Netherlands * Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, United States * Goražde, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Kuopio Finland * Pskov, Russia * Rostov-on-Don, Russia * Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France * Skierniewice, Poland * Sliven, Bulgaria * Timișoara, Romania

Notable people

* Heinrich Reinhold (1788–1825), painter and engraver * Heinrich Gustav Beck (1857–1933), Minister-president of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

1914–1918 * Otto Lummer (1860–1925), physicist *

Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Along with George ...

(1891–1969), painter and printmaker * Rudolf Paul (1893–1978), politician, President of Thuringia 1945–1947 * Bernhard Wehner (1909–1995), SS-officer (Hauptsturmführer), criminal inspector and journalist * Nahum Golan (1915–1991), Israeli Brigadier General, 1948-1950 commander of the Golani Brigade * Dietrich Peltz (1914–2001), Luftwaffe general * Karl Weschke (1925–2005), painter * Georg Buschner (1925–2007), football player, head coach East Germany national football team * Rainer Ortleb (born 1944), politician (FDP), 1990–1991 Federal Minister for Special Affairs and from 1991 to 1994 Federal Minister of Education and Science Bundesarchiv Bild 183-T0528-0005, Marlies Göhr-Ölsner

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-T0528-0005, Marlies Göhr-Ölsner

* Max Frankel (born 1930), executive editor, New York Times 1986–1994 * Klaus Kropfinger (1930–2016), musicologist * Helga Königsdorf (born 1938), mathematician and author * Thilo Sarrazin (born 1945), German politician (SPD), author * Wolfgang Tiefensee (born 1955), politician (SPD) * Marlies Göhr (born 1958), athlete * Olaf Ludwig (born 1960), racing cyclist * Heike Drechsler (born 1964), Olympic gold medallist long jumper * Jens Heppner (born 1964), racing cyclist * John Degenkolb (born 1989), racing cyclist * Marcel Eckardt (born 1989), snooker referee * Bianca Schmidt (born 1990), footballer * Wilhelm Ernst Spaethe and Otto Paul Spaeth, of Spaethe Pianos, founded in 1858 by Wilhelm Spaethe senior, awarded an imperial and royal warrant of appointment, to the court of Austria-Hungary."Handbuch des Allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates Seiner K. und K. Apostolischen Majestät., Vienna: K.k. Hof-und Staatsdruckerei", 1917, p. 520.

References

;Notes

External links

*
Official website of Gera
{{Authority control Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera Holocaust locations in Germany