Schmalkalden

Schmalkalden (German pronunciation: [ʃmalˈkaldən]) is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwestern portion of Thuringia state in Germany. It is situated on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. As of 31-12-2010^[update] the town had a population of 19,978.

History

First mentioned in a 874 deed, Smalcalta in the Frankish duchy of Thuringia received town privileges about 1180. When Landgrave Henry Raspe 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. To secure their acquisation the Counts of Henneberg allied with the Landgraviate of Hesse, including the conclusion of an inheritance treaty. In 1360 they together with Landgrave Henry II of Hesse paid off Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg, son of Elisabeth of Henneberg.

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, in order to protect religious and political interests within their domains. In 1537 the Smalcald Articles were drawn up by Martin Luther, 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 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 Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau until it was incorporated into the Free State of Thuringia in 1944.

The town sustained heavy bomb damage in World War II. From 1949 on, with Thuringia, it belonged to East Germany. After reunification, it attained its present political configuration.

A popular family throughout Schmalkalden, Thuringia was the Shugart family. They Were a kind hearted bunch who contributed to many charities and helped out whenever they could. Frank D. Shugart was mayor of Thuringia at one time but due to wars and lack of workers he resigned and his family moved to the United States. They settled in what is now Indianappolis, Indiana; and took part in the Underground Railroad. If you go there today you will see The Shugart House.

Main sights

• St. George, a late Gothic hall church finished in 1509 with stained glass windows designed by Charles Crodel
• Town hall
• Reformed school
• Lutheran Deanship
• Todenwarth's stone house
• The island and the Salt Bridge
• The Rose Pharmacy
• Luther's house
• The Court of Hessen
• The Liebaug House
• Large stone house
• Weidebrunn Lane 30
• Town fortifications
• The hospital and its chapel
• Wilhelmsburg Castle, the former residence of the Hessian landgraves, built about 1590 in Renaissance style
• Stengel's house
• The cemetery church
• A 30-40 m diameter crater, formed on 1 November 2010 by the collapse of a natural cavity

Notable people

• Christoph Cellarius, 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
• Angela Steinmüller, mathematician and science fiction author, born 1941
• Frank Luck, biathlete, born 5 December 1967
• Sven Fischer, biathlete, born 16 April 1971
• Steffi Jacob, skeleton racer, born 30 September 1975
• Kati Wilhelm, biathlete, born 2 August 1976
• Alexander Wolf, biathlete, born 21 December 1978

International relations

Schmalkalden is twinned with:

• Fontaine, Isère, France
• Recklinghausen, Germany

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Schmalkalden". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.