Zella-Mehlis is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 5 km north of Suhl, and 20 km east of

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

. The town of Zella-Mehlis is the site of the original Walther Arms and J.G. Anschütz weapons factories. They remained there until the Soviets occupied eastern Germany at the end of World War II. The former municipality

Benshausen Benshausen is a village and a former municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous cou ...

was merged into Zella-Mehlis in January 2019.

Historical Population

Twin towns

Zella-Mehlis is twinned with: * Andernach, Germany * Gemünden am Main, Germany * Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France Grundschule Martin Luther

Thuringia Zella-Mehlis asv2020-07 img01 railway station

Personalities

Honorary citizen

Helmut Recknagel Helmut Recknagel (born 20 March 1937 in Steinbach-Hallenberg) is an East German former ski jumper who was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He earned a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in ski jumping and also won the Holmenkolle ...

(* 1937), the first German Olympic ski jumping champion and world champion, started for SC Motor Zella-Mehlis

Sons and daughters of the city

Johann Kaspar Friedrich Manso Johann Kaspar Friedrich Manso (May 26, 1760 – June 9, 1826) was a German historian and philologist. Manso was born in Zella-Mehlis, and studied in Jena. He taught at the Illustrious Gymnasium in Gotha from 1785, and in 1790 moved to the Magdal ...

(1759-1826), teacher, historian and philologist *

Johann Heinrich Ehrhardt Johann Heinrich Ehrhardt, also spelled Erhardt (29 April 1805 – 29 April 1883), was a German locomotive manufacturer and inventor. Early life Ehrhardt was born on 29 April 1805 in Zella St. Blasius, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was the son of a ...

(1805-1883), locomotive builder, engineer of the Saxon Railroad *

Johann Peter Haseney Johann Peter Haseney (1812, Mehlis, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg – 1869, Munich) was a German engraver. Haseney came to Munich in his young years, where he worked as an engraver with the Seitz company. There he made different designs for stamps. He ...

(1812-1869), copper engraver, creator of the first German stamp "Schwarzer Einser" (Black one) *

Karl Künstler Karl Künstler (12 January 1901 in Zella, Anrode – presumably in April 1945 in Nuremberg) was a German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' and commandant of Flossenbürg concentration camp. Life Künstler, whose father was a barber, worked at a post o ...

(1901–1945), Nazi SS concentration camp commandant *

Michael Schumann Michael Schumann (24 September 1946 – 2 December 2000) was a German philosophy professor who became an East German advocate for reform and a politician during the build-up to German reunification. He is widely seen as a pioneer of the Part ...

(1946-2000), professor of philosophy, politician (SED, PDS), Member of Brandenburg Landtag, Member of Bundestag *

Anja Kampe Anja Kampe (born 1968) is a German-Italian operatic soprano. She is notable for her performances in major opera houses of the works of Richard Wagner and other German and Austrian composers. Career Kampe was born in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia, th ...

(born 1968), Opera singer

People associated with Zella-Mehlis

Carl Walther Carl Wilhelm Freund Walther (22 November 1858 – 9 July 1915) was a German gunsmith from Zella-Mehlis, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Go ...

(1858-1915), gunsmith * Marcel Callo (1921-1945), blessed of the Roman Catholic Church, a place was named here after him *

Horst Queck Horst Queck (born 5 October 1943 in Steinach, Thuringia) is an East German former ski jumper who competed from 1966 to 1971. Queck's best individual finish was second in the individual normal hill event in Austria Austria, , bar, Ö ...

(born 1943), ski jumper *

Reinhard Heß Reinhard Heß (13 June 1945 – 24 December 2007) was a German ski jumping coach. He was the national team's coach from 1993 until 2003, helping the sport in becoming popular in Germany. Heß was born in Lauscha, Thuringia. The jumpers he tra ...

(1945-2007), ski jumping coach of the German national team *

Fredi Albrecht Fredi Albrecht (born 23 June 1947 in Albrechts) is a German former wrestler who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cu ...

(born 1947), wrestler and competitor, visited the children's and youth sports school here *

Klaus-Peter Göpfert Klaus-Peter Göpfert (born 22 October 1948 in Coburg) is a German former Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economi ...

(born 1948), wrestler, attended the children's and sports school in Zella-Mehlis * Rainer Schmidt (born 1948), ski jumper, overall winner of the Four Hills Tournament, lives in Zella-Mehlis *

Christoph Matschie Christoph Matschie (born 15 July 1961 in Mühlhausen) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as Deputy Minister-President of Thuringia between 2009 and 2014. He was also a member of the Bundestag from 1999 to 2004 a ...

(born 1961), politician, SPD Chairman of the State of Thuringia 1999–2014, minister and parliamentary secretary of state, received training as a mechanic in Zella-Mehlis *

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 ...

(born 1976), biathlete *

Sebastian Haseney Sebastian Haseney (born August 27, 1978, in Suhl) is a former German nordic combined skier who has competed since 1999. He won two silver medals in the 4 x 5 km team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (2005, 2007) and fi ...

(born 1978), Nordic Combiner *

Franz Göring Franz Göring (born 22 October 1984) is a German cross-country skier who has been competing since 2002. He won a silver medal in the 4 × 10 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec and had his best individual fin ...

(born 1984), cross-country skier, lives in Zella-Mehlis *

Andi Langenhan Andi Langenhan (born 1 October 1984) is a German luger who has been competing since 1995 and has been on the German national team since 2001. He won two bronze medals in the men's singles event at the FIL World Luge Championships (2008, 2011). ...

(born 1984), Rennrodler *

Frank Rommel Frank Rommel (born 30 July 1984 in Suhl) is a German retired skeleton racer who began competing internationally in 2002. He won two medals at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in the mixed team ( 2009) and a bronze in the men's skeleton ...

(born 1984), Skeleton Pilots * Tino Edelmann (born 1985), Nordic Combiner

References

Schmalkalden-Meiningen Saxe-Coburg and Gotha {{SchmalkaldenMeiningen-geo-stub