Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. 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 duchy of Thuringia received town privileges 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 in

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 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,

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 Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau 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. After reunification 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 *

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 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, 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