Rudolstadt () is a town in the German federal state

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, within the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

, to the southwest, and to

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany 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 in ...

and

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

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 House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...

, the town is built along the River

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian 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, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

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. It encompasses the laws enacted by national, state, or local governments and is concerned with regulating the behavi ...

since 1326. The town's landmark is the Castle

Heidecksburg Heidecksburg is a Baroque architecture, Baroque palace in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany. The palace served as the residence of the princes to Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. It is located prominently approximately 60 m above the old town. After a fire ...

which is enthroned on a hill above the old town. The former municipality Remda-Teichel was merged into Rudolstadt in January 2019. Rudolstadt was once well known because of the

Anchor Stone Blocks Anchor Stone Blocks () 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 mixture of quartz sand, chalk, and ...

of the Toy Company Richter and

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

factories, beginning with the establishment of the Volkstedt porcelain manufacture in 1762.

History

Early history

There is archeological evidence of a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

on the Weinberg in Oberpreilipp from the time of the late

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

and the early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. 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 Foot ...

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 Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

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 ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

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 ...

After 1990

In 1994 the Neonazi and police-informant Tino Brandt (NPD) founded the Neonazi-Gang „Thüringer Heimatschutz“ (THS, Thuringian homeland protection) in Rudolstadt. The structure of 170 right-wing extremists was an SA-style street gang. The THS gave rise to the Nazi terrorist group

National Socialist Underground The National Socialist Underground (, ), or NSU (), was a German neo-Nazi militant organisation active between 1998 and 2011, and uncovered in November 2011. Regarded as a terror cell, the NSU is mostly associated with Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Böh ...

(NSU), which murdered a total of ten people over a period of 10 years.

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 is twinned with

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, Ireland. The Rudolstadt Festival (formerly TFF, Tanz&FolkFest) takes place annually on the first full July weekend.Official website of TFF.Rudolstadt

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 practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

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: Arts, entertainment and media Comic strips * ''Bobo'' (Belgian comics) * ''Bobo'' (Italian comics) * ''Bobo'' (Swedish comics) Fictional characters * Bobo the Bear, in ''The Muppets'' series * Professor Bobo, from ''My ...

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

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( ; ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the Phenomenon, phenomenal world as ...

wrote his dissertation in Rudolstadt. *

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 of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, great-grandmother to Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom * Tino Brandt (NPD), German Neonazi founded Thüringer Heimatschutz in 1994 in Rudolstadt * 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 served as Mayor of Flensburg from 2017 to 2023. Early life and career Lange grew up in Rudolstadt and completed her Abitur in 1995. After com ...

, German politician (SPD) *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

, 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 ...

, Italian composer, worked here as the composer in residence for the Rudolstadt theatre * Max Wandrer, Olympic gymnast, was born in Rudolstadt *

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 German nobility, aristocra ...

(1766–1826), wife of Schiller *

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

, 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 Towns in Thuringia