Schmalkalden () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

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 the southwest of the 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 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 on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the

Schmalkalde Schmalkalde is a river of Thuringia, Germany. It flows through the town Schmalkalden, and joins the Werra near Wernshausen. See also *List of rivers of Thuringia A list of rivers of Thuringia, Germany: A *Alster * Apfelstädt * Ascherba ...

river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a population of 19,978.

History

First mentioned in an 874 deed, ''Smalcalta'' in the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

duchy of Thuringia received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

about 1180. When Landgrave Henry Raspe of Thuringia died without issue in 1247, it passed to the House of Henneberg-Schleusingen, while the major part of the landgraviate fell to the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

. To secure their acquisition the Counts of Henneberg allied with the Landgraviate of Hesse, including the conclusion of an inheritance treaty. In 1360, together with Landgrave

Henry II of Hesse Henry II of Hesse (German: ''Heinrich''), (c. 1299 – 3 June 1376) called "the Iron" was Landgrave of Hesse from 1328–1376. Henry was the son of Otto I, Landgrave of Hesse and Adelheid of Ravensburg. With his wife Elisabeth of Thuringia, dau ...

they paid off

Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg Frederick V of Nuremberg (before 3 March 1333 – 21 January 1398) was a Burgrave (''Burggraf'') of Nuremberg, of the House of Hohenzollern. Life He was the elder son of John II, Burgrave of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Henneberg. From the de ...

, son of Elisabeth of Henneberg. Schmalkalden De Merian Hassiae

In 1531 the town hall of Schmalkalden was the site of the establishment of the Schmalkaldic League by

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

princes under the lead of Landgrave

Philip I of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protesta ...

, in order to protect religious and political interests within their domains. In 1537 the Smalcald Articles were drawn up by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

and other reformers. When the Counts of Henneberg became extinct in 1583, their share was inherited by William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. William made the town a residence and had Wilhelmsburg Castle erected, finished in 1590. The Lordship of Schmalkalden remained an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Hesse, from 1868 on it was part of the

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 em ...

n province of

Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the p ...

until it was incorporated into the

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merge ...

in 1944 and in 1945 became part of the State of Thuringia. The town sustained heavy bomb damage in World War II. From 1949 on, with Thuringia, it formed part of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. After

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governmen ...

it attained its present political configuration. In July 2018 the former municipality of

Springstille Springstille is a village and a former municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, Germany. Since July 2018, it is part of the town Schmalkalden. History From 1868 to 1944, Springstille was part of the Prussian Province of ...

was merged into Schmalkalden.
Thuringia Schmalkalden asv2020-07 img02 Totenhofskirche.jpg, Former Cemetery Church Wilhelmsburg Schmalkalden.JPG, Wilhelmsburg Schmalkalden005.jpg, Marketplace Schmalkalden Schmalkalden006.jpg, Frame House near Marketplace Schmalkalden007.jpg, Church St. George Schmalkalden008.jpg, Row of Houses at Marketplace Thuringia Schmalkalden asv2020-07 img01 railway station.jpg, Railway station

Notable people

Christoph Cellarius Christoph (Keller) Cellarius (22 November 1638 – 4 June 1707) was a German classical scholar from Schmalkalden who held positions in Weimar and Halle. Although the Ancient-Medieval-Modern division of history was used earlier by Italian Rena ...

, scholar, born 22 November 1638, died 4 June 1707 in

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach (16 April 1758 – 21 November 1827), Prussian soldier, was born at Schmalkalden, and educated at Heilbronn and Stuttgart, devoting himself chiefly to mathematics. He became an officer of the Würt ...

, colonel, born 16 April 1758, died 21 November 1827 at Białokosz * Karl Wilhelm, choral director, born 5 September 1815, died 26 August 1873 in Schmalkalden *

Otto H. Schade Otto H. Schade (April 27, 1903 – April 28, 1981) was a television pioneer, best known for his work on evaluating the gradation, graininess and sharpness in film and television images, and his aperture theory that mathematically modeled the system ...

, television pioneer, born 27 April 1903, died 28 April 1981 in

West Caldwell, New Jersey West Caldwell is a township located in the West Essex area in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located approximately west of Manhattan and northwest of Newark. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's pop ...

Angela Steinmüller Angela Steinmüller (born 15 April 1941, in Schmalkalden) is a German mathematician and science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

, mathematician and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

author, born 1941 *

Frank Luck Frank Luck (born 5 December 1967) is a former German and, before 1990, East German biathlete. Career Luck started early with cross-country skiing, but in 1980 he went over to biathlon. By 1988 at the age of 21 he had already qualified for the W ...

, biathlete, born 5 December 1967 *

Sven Fischer Sven Fischer (born 16 April 1971) is a former German biathlete. He trained with the WSV Oberhof 05 club, and was coached by Frank Ullrich and Fritz Fischer (national coaches) and Klaus Siebert (club coach). After the 2006/07 biathlon season, he ...

, biathlete, born 16 April 1971 *

Steffi Jacob Steffi Jacob (born Steffi Hanzlik on 30 September 1975 in Schmalkalden) is a German skeleton racer who has competed in the early 2000s. She won a gold medal in the inaugural women's skeleton event at the 2000 FIBT World Championships in Igl ...

, skeleton racer, born 30 September 1975 *

Kati Wilhelm Kati Wilhelm (; born 2 August 1976 in Schmalkalden) is a German former professional biathlete. Like most German biathletes she is also a member of the German Armed Forces (''Bundeswehr'') with the rank of master sergeant (''Hauptfeldwebel''). Wi ...

, biathlete, born 2 August 1976 *

Alexander Wolf Alexander Wolf (born 21 December 1978) is a former German biathlete. At the 2008 World Championships in Östersund, he won bronze medals in the 12.5 km pursuit and the 4 × 7.5 km relay. Biathlon results All results are sourced fr ...

, biathlete, born 21 December 1978

International relations

Schmalkalden is twinned with: * Fontaine, Isère, France *

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...

, Germany

Notes

References

* {{Authority control 1583 disestablishments States and territories established in 1247 Schmalkalden-Meiningen