The Free State of Thuringia

“The green heart of Germany”

Flanked by five other federal states, Thuringia is landlocked. It was originally established in 1920 by merging seven small states, along with former Prussian territories. It was dissolved by the GDR in 1952.

After the political changes in 1989, the Free State of Thuringia was re-established with slightly different borders by combining the districts of Erfurt, Gera and Suhl, together with neighbouring regions. “Free State” is a term used in German to signify “republic”.

An economy fit for the future

In the area between the Harz Mountains and the Thuringian Forest, agriculture has long played a very important role. In addition, major industrial centres shape the economic realm in this state.

Popular throughout Germany: Thuringian Bratwurst

Thuringia made a good job of getting to grips with the upheavals and structural change in the wake of the fall of the Wall. Manufacturing industry is the key sector driving growth, with a whole host of different branches represented. These include more traditional areas, such as optics, glass, mining, wood/timber, metal products and the automobile industry, as well as new branches, such as the plastics industry, solar energy and medical technology. The food processing industry is also developing into a significant economic factor for Thuringia.

Reflecting the state’s strong cultural and academic traditions, Thuringia has developed an ambitious educational infrastructure since 1990. This is rooted in 9 state-funded universities, including one of Germany’s oldest, the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, founded in 1558.

Classical traditions

Thuringia is full of cities and smaller centres that have played an important role in history. The most famous are Erfurt, the state capital; Weimar, home of Classicism; the university town of Jena; Gera, the main town in the east of Thuringia, whilst cities such as Gotha, Altenburg and Meiningen boast a past as erstwhile seats of the Thuringian court.

Cathedral in the state capital, Erfurt

Luther translated the Bible into German in the Wartburg, near Eisenach. In the 19th century Weimar was an important cultural and intellectual centre, playing a decisive role in shaping German culture. Museums and monuments still testify to the life and work of Goethe, Schiller and other intellectual giants of “Weimar Classicism”. A museum also focuses on the Bauhaus art school, which was founded here. And of course this is also the city where the “Weimar Republic” was proclaimed in 1919.

Six theatres, which also show musical productions and opera, eleven orchestras, along with festivals such as the Weimar Art Festival, the Jena Kulturarena or the Dance and Folk Music Festival in Rudolstadt - just some examples of a cultural scene that respects tradition whilst also giving it a contemporary spin. In the Thuringian Forest, Oberhof, a popular centre for winter sports, lies right on the Rennsteig, one of Germany’s top long-distance hiking trails.

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