Rudolstadt is a town in the German

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

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 ...

, with 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 ...

to the southwest, and 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 popu ...

and

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 ...

to the north. The former capital of

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since th ...

, the town is built along the River

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 Fränkische Saale, ...

inside a wide valley surrounded by woods. Rudolstadt was founded in 776 and has had

municipal law Municipal law is the national, domestic, or internal law of a sovereign state and is defined in opposition to international law. Municipal law includes many levels of law: not only national law but also state, provincial, territorial, regional, ...

since 1326. The town's landmark is the Castle

Heidecksburg Heidecksburg is a Baroque palace in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, and served as the residence of the princes to Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. It is located prominently approximately 60 m above the old town. After a fire in 1735 and its reconstruction, it ha ...

which is enthroned on a hill above the old town. The former municipality

Remda-Teichel Remda-Teichel is a town and a former municipality in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 15 km northwest of Saalfeld, and 28 km southeast of Erfurt. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Rud ...

was merged into Rudolstadt in January 2019. Rudolstadt was once well known because of the

Anchor Stone Blocks Anchor Stone Blocks (german: Anker-Steinbaukasten) are components of Dimension stone, stone construction sets made in Rudolstadt, Germany, marketed as a Construction set, construction toy. Description Anchor Stone pieces are made of a mixtur ...

of the Toy Company Richter and

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

factories, beginning with the establishment of the

Volkstedt porcelain Volkstedt porcelain manufactory sited in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany, was the earliest porcelain manufactory in Thuringia. It was in business as Aelteste Volkstedter Porzellanmanufaktur, the "Oldest Volkstedt Porcelain Manufactory", which was i ...

manufacture in 1762.

History

Early history

There is archeological evidence of a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

on the Weinberg in Oberpreilipp from the time of the late

Urnfield culture The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...

and the early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. A

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

settlement followed the Germanic one and the affiliation with the

Duchy of Thuringia The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia, established about 631 by King Dagobert I after his troops had been defeated by the forces of the Slavic confederation of Samo at the Battle of Wogas ...

. From the 6th century onwards, archeological records suggest Slavic settlement in the area. The first documented mention of the place-name was in 776 as ''Rudolfestat'' (Rudolf's settlement) as a gift from

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

Hersfeld Abbey Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue. History H ...

Historical population

Number of Inhabitants ''(from 1960 as of 31 December, unless otherwise indicated)'': : Data since 1994: Thuringian Statistical Office ¹ 29 October
² 31 August

Culture

Rudolstadt hosts Germany's biggest

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

, roots, and world music festival,

TFF Rudolstadt TFF may stand for: Festivals * Taipei Film Festival, an annual film festival in Taipei, Taiwan * Taormina Film Fest, international film festival in Taormina * Telluride Film Festival, an annual film festival in Telluride, Colorado, USA * TFF Rudols ...

(Tanz&FolkFest), taking place annually on the first full July weekend. Rudolstadt is twinned with

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

Co. Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconnel ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Since 2012 Rudolstadt hosts Getting tough race (German wiki), Europe's hardest obstacle race. The main sights of Rudolstadt on OpenstreetMap.

Economy

The headquarters of the

EPC Group EPC Group is a German engineering and construction company. It builds large industrial plants and infrastructure projects around the world. The history of the family business goes back to the 19th century and in the present form, it exists since ...

, a global

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

and

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

company, are in Rudolstadt. File:Richtersche Villa.jpg, The so-called "Richtersche Villa" (Richters Mansion). File:Rathaus Rudolstadt.jpg, Rudolstadt Town Hall File:Bobo 2006.jpg,

Bobo Bobo may refer to: Animals and plants * Bobo (gorilla) a popular gorilla at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle from 1953 to 1968 * Bobo, Vietnamese name for Job's tears, a plant of south-east Asia Entertainment, arts and media * ''Bobo'' (mag ...

2006 File:CFK Schwarza VEB Logo.svg, Chemical Industry of East Germany

Notable people

Princess Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Princess Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (9 September 1700 – 11 December 1780) was a Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. She was the daughter of Louis Frederick I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (15 October 1667 – 24 June 1718) and ...

, grandmother of

King Leopold I * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, great-grandmother to Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom * Christian Nikolaus Eberlein (1720–1788), historical painter * Traugott Maximilian Eberwein, German composer, worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre * Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, German composer and choirmaster in Rudolstadt *

Hans Fallada Hans Fallada (; born Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen; 21 July 18935 February 1947) was a German writer of the first half of the 20th century. Some of his better known novels include '' Little Man, What Now?'' (1932) and ''Every Man Dies Alone'' ...

, German writer. He went to school in Rudolstadt, it was here that he killed his friend Hans Dietrich von Necker in a duel * Ahasverus Fritsch, German poet and composer *

Simone Lange Simone Lange (born 24 October 1976) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has served as elected mayor of Flensburg since 2017. Early life and career Lange grew up in Rudolstadt and completed her Abitur in 1995. After ...

, German politician (SPD) *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, Hungarian composer worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre *

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...

, Italian composer, worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre *

Charlotte von Lengefeld Charlotte Luise Antoinette von Schiller (née von Lengefeld; 22 November 1766 – 9 July 1826) was the wife of German poet Friedrich Schiller. Early life Lengefeld was born in Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, into an aristocratic family, and ...

(1766–1826), wife of Schiller *

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, German composer, worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre

References

External links

* {{Authority control 776 establishments Populated places established in the 8th century Saalfeld-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Towns in Thuringia