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 lar ...

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 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 ...

at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the

Werra The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...

. , 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 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 ...

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 traditio ...

about 1180. When Landgrave

Henry Raspe Henry Raspe (; – 16 February 1247) was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his contest ...

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 ...

in Meissen. To secure their acquisition the Counts of Henneberg allied with the

Landgraviate of Hesse The Landgraviate of Hesse (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen) was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. History In the early Midd ...

, including the conclusion of an inheritance treaty. In 1360, together with Landgrave Henry II of Hesse they paid off Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg, 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 The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

princes under the lead of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse, in order to protect religious and political interests within their domains. In 1537 the

Smalcald Articles The Smalcald Articles or Schmalkald Articles (german: Schmalkaldische Artikel) are a summary of Lutheran doctrine, written by Martin Luther in 1537 for a meeting of the Schmalkaldic League in preparation for an intended ecumenical Council of the ...

were drawn up by

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

, Philipp Melanchthon and other reformers. When the Counts of Henneberg became extinct in 1583, their share was inherited by

William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel William IV of Hesse-Kassel (24 June 153225 August 1592), also called ''William the Wise'', was the first Landgrave of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). He was the founder of the oldest line, which survives to this day. Life Lan ...

. William made the town a residence and had Wilhelmsburg Castle erected, finished in 1590. The Lordship of Schmalkalden remained an exclave 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 ...

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 ...

until it was incorporated into the Province of Saxony 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 governm ...

it attained its present political configuration. In July 2018 the former municipality of Springstille 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 * Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach, 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, 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 po ...

* Angela Steinmüller, 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 uni ...

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 ...

, biathlete, born 5 December 1967 * Sven Fischer, biathlete, born 16 April 1971 * Steffi Jacob, 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 Fontaine (; frp, Fontana) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration),

, France * Recklinghausen, Germany

Notes

References

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