Kaltennordheim () is a town in the

Schmalkalden-Meiningen Schmalkalden-Meiningen is a ''Landkreis'' in the southwest of Thuringia, Germany. Its neighboring districts are (from the northwest clockwise) the districts Wartburgkreis, Gotha, Ilm-Kreis, the district-free city Suhl, the district Hildburghausen, ...

district, in

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 in the

Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...

, 22 km southwest of

Bad Salzungen Bad Salzungen () is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wartburgkreis district. Geography Location Bad Salzungen is situated on the river Werra, east of Tiefenort and south of Eisenach. Divisions In July 2018 the former m ...

, and 35 km east of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

. The former municipalities Aschenhausen, Kaltensundheim, Kaltenwestheim, Melpers, Oberkatz und Unterweid were merged into Kaltennordheim in January 2019. At the same time, Kaltennordheim passed from the

Wartburgkreis Wartburgkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Gotha, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg and Wer ...

to Schmalkalden-Meiningen.

Origin of the Name

The location was named "Nordheim im Tullifeld" in the middle ages. The prefix "Kalten-" first appeared in the 14th century, likely in reference to the relatively harsh weather in the region which can be attributed to its position south of the Neuberg Dermbach mountain range. Three other nearby towns bear the same prefix: Kaltensundheim, Kaltenlengsfeld and Kaltenwestheim. The prefix also differentiates Kaltennordheim from other towns like Nordheim vor der Rhön.

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), Kaltennordheim was part of the

Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised ...

References

Schmalkalden-Meiningen {{SchmalkaldenMeiningen-geo-stub