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Suhl

Suhl (German pronunciation: [zuːl] ) is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, 110 kilometres (68 miles) NE of Würzburg and 130 kilometres (81 miles) N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella-Mehlis, Suhl forms the largest urban area in the Thuringian Forest with a population of 46,000. The region around Suhl is marked by up to 1,000-meter-high mountains, including Thuringia's highest peak, the Großer Beerberg (983 m), approximately 5 kilometres (3 miles) NE of the city centre.

Suhl
View over Suhl
Location of Suhl within Thuringia
Suhl
Suhl
Coordinates: 50°36′38″N 10°41′35″E / 50.61056°N 10.69306°E / 50.61056; 10.69306
CountryGermany
StateThuringia
DistrictUrban district
SubdivisionsTown and 10 districts
Government
 • Mayor (2018–24) André Knapp[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total141.62 km2 (54.68 sq mi)
Elevation
422 m (1,385 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
 • Total36,054
 • Density250/km2 (660/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
98527–98530, 98711
Dialling codes03681, 036846, 036782
Vehicle registrationSHL
Websitewww.suhltrifft.de

Suhl was first mentioned in 1318 and stayed a small mining and metalworking town, until industrialization broke through in late 19th century and Suhl became a centre of Germany's arms production, specialized on rifles and guns with companies such as Sauer & Sohn. Furthermore, the engineering industry was based in Suhl with Simson, a famous car and moped producer. In 1952, Suhl became one of East Germany's 14 district capitals, which led to a government-directed period of urban growth and conversion. Its results – a typical 1960s concrete architecture-marked city centre – are defining to the present. With the loss of its administrative and industrial functions, Suhl saw a lasting period of urban decline starting in 1990.

Suhl is known for its sportsmen, especially in shooting, winter sports, and volleyball.

History edit

Middle Ages edit

Though first appearing in a 1318 deed, several entries in the annals of Fulda Abbey already mentioned a place named Sulaha between 900 and 1155 AD. The coat of arms from 1365 shows two hammers, indicating the city's most important livelihood: metal processing. The region belonged to the territories held by the Franconian counts of Henneberg since the 11th century. Suhl was located on an important trade route from Gotha, Erfurt and Arnstadt passing the Thuringian Forest mountain range at Oberhof and continuing to the Henneberg's residence, Schleusingen.

Early modern period edit

From 1500 onwards, the Henneberg lands belonged to the Franconian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. Suhl has been a Flecken (small market town) since 1445 and the full municipal rights were granted in 1527, making Suhl one of the youngest cities in present-day Thuringia. Iron ore mining created the basis for the development of Suhl as a centre of gunsmith trade.

The Reformation was introduced in 1544. Several witch-hunts took place in the area from 1553 until the late 17th century. When the Henneberg counts became extinct in 1583, Suhl passed to the Wettin electors of Saxony, where it remained until 1815. Unlike most of present Thuringia, it didn't belong to the Ernestine line of the Wettins, but to the Albertine cadet branch of Saxe-Zeitz from 1660, so that it had been a Saxonian and later Prussian exclave within Thuringia for nearly 300 years.

During the 16th century, iron mining and metalworking saw a boom, finished by the Thirty Years' War, when marauding Croat mercenaries under Imperial general Johann Ludwig Hektor von Isolani burnt down the city in 1634. From about 1690, Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz supported the reconstruction of Suhl as a mining town.

Since 1815 edit

The Congress of Vienna in 1815 led to the Saxonian loss of Suhl, which became part of Prussia. Staying an exclave within Ernestine territories, Suhl was part of the Schleusingen district until the dissolution of Prussia in 1945.

The later 19th century brought the connection to the railway in 1882 and the industrialisation of the metalworking business. About 1920, Suhl has been a centre of left-wing revolutionary groups, so that the Reichswehr occupied the city (and the neighbour-town Zella-Mehlis) during the Kapp Putsch and ended the workers uprising. After 1935, the military industry saw another boom, caused by the Nazi armament. About 10,000 forced labourers had to work in the city's arms industry after 1940.

The US Army reached Suhl on 3 April 1945 and was replaced by Soviet troops on 1 July 1945. At the same year, Suhl became part of Thuringia, which was replaced by three Bezirks in 1952. Suhl became the capital of the south-western Bezirk, reaching from Bad Salzungen in the north-west to Sonneberg in the south-east with a population of 550,000. During the GDR period, the upgraded city saw a period of rapid urban growth, which is defining until today.

After the German reunification in 1990, Suhl lost its administrative functions when Thuringia was refounded and replaced the Bezirks. Furthermore, the industry collapsed. Both led to a structural crises, which isn't overcome yet. The population of Suhl declined about 35% since 1988.

History of arms production edit

The metal processing of Suhl naturally led, during the Renaissance, to other major local industries, including gunsmithing and armoring. Suhl was a major producer of cannons throughout the seventeenth and subsequent centuries, and Suhl cannons were used by many European powers. A major arms company that was located in Suhl for almost 200 years was J.P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH, producer of hunting rifles, shotguns, and pistols, such as the Sauer 38H, until moving operations to Eckernförde at the end of World War II.

Other prominent firearms manufacturers in Suhl included:

  • Simson (also known as BSW and then Gustloff Werke under Nazi rule and Ernst Thälmann Suhl under Communist rule)
  • Waffenfabrik August Menz, noted for having produced in the 1920s the Liliput pistol, one of the smallest semiautomatic handguns ever made.
  • C.G. Haenel
  • The largest manufacturer producing firearms currently in Suhl is Merkel GmbH, which make both rifles and shotguns.

During the Cold War, the East German national shooting arena was located at Suhl, and hosted many top-level competitions, including the 1986 ISSF World Championships. Although surpassed in this respect in the unified Germany by the Olympic shooting centre at Munich, Suhl remains an important place to the sport. It hosts Germany's only school for armorers, and a well equipped museum of weapons.

Geography edit

Topography and geology edit

Suhl is located on the south-western edge of the Thuringian Forest. To the south-west, the Small Thuringian Forest (some foothills of the Thuringian forest) is situated. The terrain is mountainous to all directions, some important mountains are: the Großer Beerberg (983 m, highest one in Thuringia) in the north-east, the Ringberg (745 m), the Döllberg (760 m), the Friedberg (649 m) and the Adlersberg (859 m) in the east, the Steinsburg (641 m) in the south, the Heiliger Berg (513 m), the Domberg (675 m) and the Berg Bock (709 m) in the north-west as well as the Bocksberg (609 m) and the Hoheloh (526 m) within the city. The centre itself is located in an elevation of 450 m and nearly the complete non-build on part of the municipal territory is forested. There are a few small rivers running through Suhl: The Hasel rises at Friedberg in the south-east and runs westward through Suhl, Heinrichs, Mäbendorf, Dietzhausen and Wichtshausen. The Lauter rises on the southern slope of Großer Beerberg mountain and runs through Goldlauter, Lauter and the city centre, before it joins the Hasel behind the station. The Mühlwasser rises on the western slope of Großer Beerberg and runs southward through the northern city parts before it joins the Lauter at the northern city centre.

Suhl sits on the southern edge of the Suhler Scholle, an upthrust granite complex that is streaked by numerous dikes. This is part of the Ruhla-Schleusingen Horst that defines the southwest side of the Thuringian Forest. The southwest side of the Suhler Scholle abuts horizontal sedimentary layers, Buntsandstein (sandstone from the Triassic period) over Zechstein (evaporite deposits from the Permian period). The granite of the Suhler Scholle is capped with Permian sediments and igneous deposits. The higher hills to the northeast are part of the Beerberg Scholle, an irregularly cracked mass of quartz porphyry from the later Permian period.[3][4]

A band of iron ores follows the fault dividing the Suhler Scholle from the sedimentary rocks to the southwest, while the copper and silver deposits are to the northeast in the Permian deposits above the Suhler Scholle. Southeast of town, there is a significant uranium deposit in the Buntsandstein.[5]

 
Panoramic view over Suhl and the mountains around

Administrative division edit

 
District map

Suhl abuts the following municipalities: Geratal, Elgersburg and Ilmenau within Ilm-Kreis district in the north-east, Nahetal-Waldau, Sankt Kilian, Eichenberg, Grub, Oberstadt and Schmeheim within Hildburghausen district in the south, Dillstädt and Schwarza in the west as well as Benshausen and Zella-Mehlis in the north within Schmalkalden-Meiningen district.

Some villages were incorporated during the 20th and 21st century to form the present-day districts of Suhl:

  • Albrechts (incorporated in 1994)
  • Dietzhausen (1994)
  • Gehlberg (2019)
  • Goldlauter (1979)
  • Heidersbach (1979)
  • Heinrichs (1936)
  • Mäbendorf (1979)
  • Neundorf (also: Suhler Neundorf, 1936)
  • Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig (2019)
  • Vesser (1994)
  • Wichtshausen (1994)

Cityscape edit

 
The new city centre in 1974
 
The central mall in 1969

Suhl's cityscape is marked by the lack of flat ground to build on, which is why the city's morphology appears picked and incoherent. The city centre developed during the Middle Ages around the Marktplatz and the Steinweg (as main street) next to the confluence of Lauter and Rimbach river. Later, the city grew to the east and south to the bordering hills and valleys. After World War II, Suhl became the capital of one of the 14 Bezirks in the GDR in 1952. During the following decades, the city doubled its population, many Plattenbau settlements developed at the periphery and the centre got largely converted. The old town around Friedrich-König-Straße was demolished during the 1960s, as were the quarters east of Topfmarkt later. They were rebuilt with contemporary concrete architecture and Plattenbau buildings. The new city centre with all the important public buildings was developed around Friedrich-König-Straße, even with large-scale high-rise buildings. After the reunification, the population shrunk heavily, leading to high vacancy rates. The government reacted to this by demolishing some of the Plattenbau settlements at the periphery; some buildings stood only for 20 years. Compared with other East German cities, the fight against vacancy was simpler in Suhl, because vacancy was concentrated at the periphery and not in the city centre (as in the most older cities in East Germany), which made it easy to demolish and renature the areas. A larger problem is vacancy in shops in the city centre, because the retail sector in Suhl has also been in a crisis for many years.

Demographics edit

Year Population
1525 1,255
1705 4,486
1753 5,189
1806 6,060
1811 5,598
1815 5,922
1841 7,150
3 December 1843 ¹ 8,127
1 December 1875 ¹ 10,512
1 December 1880 ¹ 10,004
1 December 1885 ¹ 10,602
1 December 1890 ¹ 11,533
2 December 1895 ¹ 11,900
1 December 1900 ¹ 13,000
1 December 1905 ¹ 13,814
1 December 1910 ¹ 14,468
1 December 1916 ¹ 14,820
Year Population
5 December 1917 ¹ 14,639
8 October 1919 ¹ 14,742
16 June 1925 ¹ 15,579
16 June 1933 ¹ 15,477
17 May 1939 ¹ 25,530
1 December 1945 ¹ 25,084
29 October 1946 ¹ 24,598
31 August 1950 ¹ 24,020
31 December 1955 25,215
31 December 1960 25,497
31 December 1964 ¹ 28,190
1 January 1971 ¹ 31,661
31 December 1975 37,771
31 December 1981 ¹ 49,849
31 December 1985 54,392
31 December 1988 56,345
31 December 1990 54,731
Year Population
31 December 1995 53,591
31 December 1998 50,182
31 December 1999 49,206
31 December 2000 48,025
31 December 2001 46,765
31 December 2002 45,569
31 December 2003 44,529
31 December 2004 43,652
31 December 2005 42,689
31 December 2006 41,861
31 December 2007 41,015
31 December 2008 40,173
31 December 2009 39,526
31 December 2010 38,776
31 December 2011 38,219
31 December 2012 35,967
31 December 2013 35,665
Year Population
31 December 2014 36,208
31 December 2015 36,778
31 December 2016 35,892

¹ Census

 
Evolution of population since 1870

The area around Suhl was settled during the later Middle Ages, nevertheless, Suhl stayed a village resp. small town of 1,000 to 2,000 inhabitants during this period. The growth of proto-industrial manufacturing businesses in 17th and 18th century led to a first increase of population up to 6,000 around 1800. During the following decades, the industrial revolution in other German regions led to an economic crisis in Suhl, because of the bad traffic conditions for exporting products. Nevertheless, the population grew further to 10,000 in the 1880s, as the city got finally connected to the railway. Compared to other upcoming cities in Germany, the growth of population stayed slight until 1935, as Suhl counted 15,000 inhabitants. Then, the arm production for World War II brought an economic boom to Suhl and a growth of population up to 26,000 in 1940, which stayed the same until the early 1960s. Between 1960 and 1988, the population grew up to 56,000, forced by the government's expansion of Suhl as a capital of one of the 14 Bezirks in GDR. After the reunification in 1990, the city lost its administrative and economic functions, which led to an extreme decline in population. It shrunk to 48,000 in 2000 and 36,000 in 2012. With a decline of more than 35% since 1988, Suhl is among the heaviest shrinking cities in Germany.

The average decrease of population between 2009 and 2012 was approximately 1.68% p. a, which is faster than in bordering rural regions. Suburbanization played only a small role in Suhl. It occurred after the reunification for a short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas were situated within the administrative city borders. During the 1990s and the 2000s, many inhabitants left Suhl to search a better life in west Germany or other major east German cities like Erfurt, Jena or Leipzig. The birth deficit, caused by the high average age of the population, is getting a bigger problem because there is no immigration to compensate it yet. Urban planning activities to tear down unused flats led to a relatively low vacancy rate of 8% (according to 2011 EU census), compared with a loss in population of more than 35% since 1988.

The birth deficit was 207 in 2012, this is −5.8 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: −4.5; national average: −2.4). The net migration rate was −11.5 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: −0.8; national average: +4.6).[6] The most important target regions of Suhl migrants are other Thuringian regions like Erfurt, Jena and Eisenach same as the western German conurbations.

Like other eastern German cities, Suhl has only a small amount of foreign population: around 1.5% are non-Germans by citizenship and overall 3.9% are migrants (according to 2011 EU census). Differing from the national average, the biggest groups of migrants in Suhl are Russians and Vietnamese people. During recent years, the economic situation of the city improved: the unemployment rate declined from 16% in 2006 to 7% in 2013, which is one of the lowest rates among Thuringia's major cities. Due to the official atheism in former GDR, most of the population is non-religious. 12.6% are members of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and 2.5% are Catholics (according to 2011 EU census).

Politics edit

The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Martin Kummer of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 2006. He was succeeded by independent Jens Triebel from 2006 to 2018. André Knapp of the CDU was elected in 2018, and has since served as mayor. The most recent mayoral election was held on 15 April 2018, with a runoff held on 29 April, and the results were as follows:

Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Jens Triebel Independent 6,129 42.5 6,597 47.6
André Knapp Christian Democratic Union 5,470 37.9 7,267 52.4
Philipp Weltzien The Left 2,010 13.9
Stephan Nagel Social Democratic Party 827 5.7
Valid votes 14,436 98.7 13,864 99.2
Invalid votes 195 1.3 117 0.8
Total 14,631 100.0 13,981 100.0
Electorate/voter turnout 30,537 47.9 30,506 45.8
Source: Wahlen in Thüringen

The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows:

Party Lead candidate Votes % +/- Seats +/-
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) André Knapp 14,974 29.5   3.4 11   2
Free Voters (FW) Jens Triebel 9,811 19.3   2.9 7   1
The Left (Die Linke) Philipp Weltzien 9,291 18.3   14.3 7   5
Alternative for Germany (AfD) Bernhard Meinunger 6,133 12.1 New 4 New
Social Democratic Party (SPD) Uwe Theisinger 6,023 11.9   3.2 4   2
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) Bernhard Hofmeier 2,890 5.7   5.5 2   2
Free Democratic Party (FDP) Andreas Schmidt 1,660 3.3   0.0 1 ±0
Valid votes 17,085 97.9
Invalid votes 361 2.1
Total 17,446 100.0 36 ±0
Electorate/voter turnout 31,916 54.7   9.7
Source: Wahlen in Thüringen

Economy and infrastructure edit

Agriculture, industry and services edit

 
A building of the former Simson factory with A 73's Haseltal bridge in background
 
Another former Simson building

Agriculture plays no role in Suhl, only 17% of the municipal territory are in agricultural use. The soil isn't very fertile and the climate is harsh, the most cultivated strains are maize and rapeseed, furthermore there is cattle farming on some areas. On the other hand, 63% of the territory are forest, so that wood production plays a role in Suhl.

Suhl's industry has always been based on metalworking. In the past, the city was a leading arms producer in Germany and the vehicle production was another pillar of the local industry. After the reunification in 1990, the industry collapsed and the most factories got closed. Important companies of today are CDA, a producer of data replication media, Zimbo, a meat producer, Gramss, an industrial bakery, Paragon, a car parts supplier, and Merkel, the last remained arms producer in Suhl. In 2012, there were 27 companies in industrial production with more than 20 workers employing 2,000 persons and generating a turnover of €295 million.[7]

Services in Suhl are including the typical regional supply (like retail, hospital, cinema etc.) and some preserved administrative functions over the surrounding districts like the Industrie- und Handelskammer and the regional centres of Arbeitsagentur and Rentenversicherung. Furthermore, tourism plays a role because of the beautiful landscape around. In 2012, there were 93,000 hotel guests having 245,000 overnight stays in Suhl.[8]

Transport edit

 
Local train to Erfurt at Suhl station

Suhl connected to the railway quite late, because of its hilly terrain. The Neudietendorf–Ritschenhausen railway through the city was opened in 1882 (southern direction to Würzburg) and in 1884 (northern direction to Erfurt). It was one of only few main mountain railways in Prussia with the large, 3,039 metres (9,970 ft) long Brandleite Tunnel north of the city. Later, this railway became an important link between Berlin and south-western Germany, until the inner-German border cut it off in 1949. Since that time, there is only regional traffic on the line (except a short time in 1990s with long-distance trains). The express train runs every two hours to Erfurt in the north and Würzburg in the south, where connections to long-distance trains are given. Furthermore, there are local trains to Erfurt and Meiningen, running also every two hours, so that there is overall a connection once an hour in both directions. Another railway to Schleusingen was opened in 1911 and closed in 1997. With a gradient of nearly 7%, it was one of the steepest regular railways in Germany. Stations in Suhl besides the main station are located in Heinrichs and Dietzhausen, whereas the Stations Suhler Neundorf and Friedberg at the Schleusingen line are abandoned.

Suhl is situated at the junction of Bundesautobahn 71 (Erfurt–Würzburg) and Bundesautobahn 73 (Suhl–Nuremberg). Both got opened during the 2000s and host some impressive bridges and tunnels around Suhl, like the Rennsteig Tunnel in the north and the 82 m high Haseltalbrücke at Heinrichs district. A Bundesstraße through Suhl was the Bundesstraße 247 from Gotha in the north to Schleusingen in the south. It was annulled after the opening of both Autobahns and is now a secondary road. Other important secondary roads run to Meiningen in the west and Ilmenau in the east.

Biking is getting more and more popular since the construction of quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s. For tourism serve the Hasel track from Suhl to the Werra valley near Meiningen. Furthermore, there are some mountainbiking tracks within the Thuringian Forest.

Public transport is carried out by a bus line network connecting the city centre with the outskirts, Zella-Mehlis and neighbouring villages. A trolleybus system was planned during the late 1980s, but not realized after the reunification.

Education edit

There is only one Gymnasium school left in Suhl, after others were closed due to the decline of the number of children after 1990.

Culture edit

 
Fahrzeugmuseum (entrance)

There are some museums and other cultural institutions in Suhl:

  • The Waffenmuseum at Friedrich-König-Straße shows an exhibition about the history of arm production in Suhl.
  • The Fahrzeugmuseum at Kongresszentrum hosts an exhibition of vehicles produced by Simson.
  • The Galerie im Atrium at Kongresszentrum shows temporary exhibitions of art.
  • The Sternwarte Suhl is the city's observatory at Hoheloh hill, south-west of the city centre.
  • The Tierpark Suhl is the zoological garden of the city at Carl-Fiedler-Straße on the eastern city border.
  • The municipal orchestra, founded in 1953 and based in the Kulturhaus at Friedrich-König-Straße was closed in 2009.

Sights edit

The most significant sights in Suhl are:

  • St. Mary's Church is the evangelical main parish church of Suhl, built between 1753 and 1756 in late-Baroque style
  • The Holy Cross Church is the second evangelical parish church at Steinweg, built between 1731 and 1739 in Baroque style.
  • The Holy Cross Chapel behind the eponymous church is one of the oldest buildings in Suhl, established in 1618 Gothic style.
  • The town hall at Marktplatz was built between 1812 and 1817 and modified in 1913 to Neo-Baroque style.
  • The Malzhaus at Friedrich-König-Straße was built around 1650 and hosts the Waffenmusuem today.
  • The Kulturhaus at Friedrich-König-Straße was built in 1957 in Neo-Classicist style and demolished in 2013. Only the façade and the lobby remained.
  • Some buildings of the former Simson factory between the Heinrichs and Mäbendorf districts in Bauhaus-modern architecture of 1920s and 1930s remained.
  • The new municipal library at Bahnhofstraße was built in 2004 in form of a glass cube.
  • Some older buildings remained in the district of Heinrichs (including the church, town hall and some picturesque timber-framed houses) west of the city centre.

Image gallery edit

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Suhl is twinned with:[9]

Notable people edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gewählte Bürgermeister - aktuelle Landesübersicht, Freistaat Thüringen, accessed 4 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden, erfüllenden Gemeinden und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften in Thüringen Gebietsstand: 31.12.2021" (in German). Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik. June 2022.
  3. ^ "Erzlagerstaetten". Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. ^ geo.uni-jena.de/geophysik 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Karte Bergbaugebiete um Suhl". Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  6. ^ According to Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik
  7. ^ Statistik, Thüringer Landesamt für. "Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik". Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. ^ Statistik, Thüringer Landesamt für. "Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik". Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Partnerstädte". suhltrifft.de (in German). Suhl. Retrieved 2021-04-05.

External links edit

suhl, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar,. For other uses see Suhl disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Suhl news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Suhl German pronunciation zuːl is a city in Thuringia Germany located SW of Erfurt 110 kilometres 68 miles NE of Wurzburg and 130 kilometres 81 miles N of Nuremberg With its 37 000 inhabitants it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia Together with its northern neighbour town Zella Mehlis Suhl forms the largest urban area in the Thuringian Forest with a population of 46 000 The region around Suhl is marked by up to 1 000 meter high mountains including Thuringia s highest peak the Grosser Beerberg 983 m approximately 5 kilometres 3 miles NE of the city centre SuhlTownView over SuhlFlagCoat of armsLocation of Suhl within ThuringiaSuhlShow map of GermanySuhlShow map of ThuringiaCoordinates 50 36 38 N 10 41 35 E 50 61056 N 10 69306 E 50 61056 10 69306CountryGermanyStateThuringiaDistrictUrban districtSubdivisionsTown and 10 districtsGovernment Mayor 2018 24 Andre Knapp 1 CDU Area Total141 62 km2 54 68 sq mi Elevation422 m 1 385 ft Population 2021 12 31 2 Total36 054 Density250 km2 660 sq mi Time zoneUTC 01 00 CET Summer DST UTC 02 00 CEST Postal codes98527 98530 98711Dialling codes03681 036846 036782Vehicle registrationSHLWebsitewww suhltrifft deSuhl was first mentioned in 1318 and stayed a small mining and metalworking town until industrialization broke through in late 19th century and Suhl became a centre of Germany s arms production specialized on rifles and guns with companies such as Sauer amp Sohn Furthermore the engineering industry was based in Suhl with Simson a famous car and moped producer In 1952 Suhl became one of East Germany s 14 district capitals which led to a government directed period of urban growth and conversion Its results a typical 1960s concrete architecture marked city centre are defining to the present With the loss of its administrative and industrial functions Suhl saw a lasting period of urban decline starting in 1990 Suhl is known for its sportsmen especially in shooting winter sports and volleyball Contents 1 History 1 1 Middle Ages 1 2 Early modern period 1 3 Since 1815 1 4 History of arms production 2 Geography 2 1 Topography and geology 2 2 Administrative division 2 3 Cityscape 3 Demographics 4 Politics 5 Economy and infrastructure 5 1 Agriculture industry and services 5 2 Transport 6 Education 7 Culture 8 Sights 8 1 Image gallery 9 Twin towns sister cities 10 Notable people 11 References 12 External linksHistory editMiddle Ages edit Though first appearing in a 1318 deed several entries in the annals of Fulda Abbey already mentioned a place named Sulaha between 900 and 1155 AD The coat of arms from 1365 shows two hammers indicating the city s most important livelihood metal processing The region belonged to the territories held by the Franconian counts of Henneberg since the 11th century Suhl was located on an important trade route from Gotha Erfurt and Arnstadt passing the Thuringian Forest mountain range at Oberhof and continuing to the Henneberg s residence Schleusingen Early modern period edit From 1500 onwards the Henneberg lands belonged to the Franconian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire Suhl has been a Flecken small market town since 1445 and the full municipal rights were granted in 1527 making Suhl one of the youngest cities in present day Thuringia Iron ore mining created the basis for the development of Suhl as a centre of gunsmith trade The Reformation was introduced in 1544 Several witch hunts took place in the area from 1553 until the late 17th century When the Henneberg counts became extinct in 1583 Suhl passed to the Wettin electors of Saxony where it remained until 1815 Unlike most of present Thuringia it didn t belong to the Ernestine line of the Wettins but to the Albertine cadet branch of Saxe Zeitz from 1660 so that it had been a Saxonian and later Prussian exclave within Thuringia for nearly 300 years During the 16th century iron mining and metalworking saw a boom finished by the Thirty Years War when marauding Croat mercenaries under Imperial general Johann Ludwig Hektor von Isolani burnt down the city in 1634 From about 1690 Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe Zeitz supported the reconstruction of Suhl as a mining town Since 1815 edit The Congress of Vienna in 1815 led to the Saxonian loss of Suhl which became part of Prussia Staying an exclave within Ernestine territories Suhl was part of the Schleusingen district until the dissolution of Prussia in 1945 The later 19th century brought the connection to the railway in 1882 and the industrialisation of the metalworking business About 1920 Suhl has been a centre of left wing revolutionary groups so that the Reichswehr occupied the city and the neighbour town Zella Mehlis during the Kapp Putsch and ended the workers uprising After 1935 the military industry saw another boom caused by the Nazi armament About 10 000 forced labourers had to work in the city s arms industry after 1940 The US Army reached Suhl on 3 April 1945 and was replaced by Soviet troops on 1 July 1945 At the same year Suhl became part of Thuringia which was replaced by three Bezirks in 1952 Suhl became the capital of the south western Bezirk reaching from Bad Salzungen in the north west to Sonneberg in the south east with a population of 550 000 During the GDR period the upgraded city saw a period of rapid urban growth which is defining until today After the German reunification in 1990 Suhl lost its administrative functions when Thuringia was refounded and replaced the Bezirks Furthermore the industry collapsed Both led to a structural crises which isn t overcome yet The population of Suhl declined about 35 since 1988 History of arms production edit The metal processing of Suhl naturally led during the Renaissance to other major local industries including gunsmithing and armoring Suhl was a major producer of cannons throughout the seventeenth and subsequent centuries and Suhl cannons were used by many European powers A major arms company that was located in Suhl for almost 200 years was J P Sauer und Sohn GmbH producer of hunting rifles shotguns and pistols such as the Sauer 38H until moving operations to Eckernforde at the end of World War II Other prominent firearms manufacturers in Suhl included Simson also known as BSW and then Gustloff Werke under Nazi rule and Ernst Thalmann Suhl under Communist rule Waffenfabrik August Menz noted for having produced in the 1920s the Liliput pistol one of the smallest semiautomatic handguns ever made C G Haenel The largest manufacturer producing firearms currently in Suhl is Merkel GmbH which make both rifles and shotguns During the Cold War the East German national shooting arena was located at Suhl and hosted many top level competitions including the 1986 ISSF World Championships Although surpassed in this respect in the unified Germany by the Olympic shooting centre at Munich Suhl remains an important place to the sport It hosts Germany s only school for armorers and a well equipped museum of weapons Geography editTopography and geology edit Suhl is located on the south western edge of the Thuringian Forest To the south west the Small Thuringian Forest some foothills of the Thuringian forest is situated The terrain is mountainous to all directions some important mountains are the Grosser Beerberg 983 m highest one in Thuringia in the north east the Ringberg 745 m the Dollberg 760 m the Friedberg 649 m and the Adlersberg 859 m in the east the Steinsburg 641 m in the south the Heiliger Berg 513 m the Domberg 675 m and the Berg Bock 709 m in the north west as well as the Bocksberg 609 m and the Hoheloh 526 m within the city The centre itself is located in an elevation of 450 m and nearly the complete non build on part of the municipal territory is forested There are a few small rivers running through Suhl The Hasel rises at Friedberg in the south east and runs westward through Suhl Heinrichs Mabendorf Dietzhausen and Wichtshausen The Lauter rises on the southern slope of Grosser Beerberg mountain and runs through Goldlauter Lauter and the city centre before it joins the Hasel behind the station The Muhlwasser rises on the western slope of Grosser Beerberg and runs southward through the northern city parts before it joins the Lauter at the northern city centre Suhl sits on the southern edge of the Suhler Scholle an upthrust granite complex that is streaked by numerous dikes This is part of the Ruhla Schleusingen Horst that defines the southwest side of the Thuringian Forest The southwest side of the Suhler Scholle abuts horizontal sedimentary layers Buntsandstein sandstone from the Triassic period over Zechstein evaporite deposits from the Permian period The granite of the Suhler Scholle is capped with Permian sediments and igneous deposits The higher hills to the northeast are part of the Beerberg Scholle an irregularly cracked mass of quartz porphyry from the later Permian period 3 4 A band of iron ores follows the fault dividing the Suhler Scholle from the sedimentary rocks to the southwest while the copper and silver deposits are to the northeast in the Permian deposits above the Suhler Scholle Southeast of town there is a significant uranium deposit in the Buntsandstein 5 nbsp Panoramic view over Suhl and the mountains aroundAdministrative division edit nbsp District mapSuhl abuts the following municipalities Geratal Elgersburg and Ilmenau within Ilm Kreis district in the north east Nahetal Waldau Sankt Kilian Eichenberg Grub Oberstadt and Schmeheim within Hildburghausen district in the south Dillstadt and Schwarza in the west as well as Benshausen and Zella Mehlis in the north within Schmalkalden Meiningen district Some villages were incorporated during the 20th and 21st century to form the present day districts of Suhl Albrechts incorporated in 1994 Dietzhausen 1994 Gehlberg 2019 Goldlauter 1979 Heidersbach 1979 Heinrichs 1936 Mabendorf 1979 Neundorf also Suhler Neundorf 1936 Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig 2019 Vesser 1994 Wichtshausen 1994 Cityscape edit nbsp The new city centre in 1974 nbsp The central mall in 1969Suhl s cityscape is marked by the lack of flat ground to build on which is why the city s morphology appears picked and incoherent The city centre developed during the Middle Ages around the Marktplatz and the Steinweg as main street next to the confluence of Lauter and Rimbach river Later the city grew to the east and south to the bordering hills and valleys After World War II Suhl became the capital of one of the 14 Bezirks in the GDR in 1952 During the following decades the city doubled its population many Plattenbau settlements developed at the periphery and the centre got largely converted The old town around Friedrich Konig Strasse was demolished during the 1960s as were the quarters east of Topfmarkt later They were rebuilt with contemporary concrete architecture and Plattenbau buildings The new city centre with all the important public buildings was developed around Friedrich Konig Strasse even with large scale high rise buildings After the reunification the population shrunk heavily leading to high vacancy rates The government reacted to this by demolishing some of the Plattenbau settlements at the periphery some buildings stood only for 20 years Compared with other East German cities the fight against vacancy was simpler in Suhl because vacancy was concentrated at the periphery and not in the city centre as in the most older cities in East Germany which made it easy to demolish and renature the areas A larger problem is vacancy in shops in the city centre because the retail sector in Suhl has also been in a crisis for many years Demographics editYear Population1525 1 2551705 4 4861753 5 1891806 6 0601811 5 5981815 5 9221841 7 1503 December 1843 8 1271 December 1875 10 5121 December 1880 10 0041 December 1885 10 6021 December 1890 11 5332 December 1895 11 9001 December 1900 13 0001 December 1905 13 8141 December 1910 14 4681 December 1916 14 820 Year Population5 December 1917 14 6398 October 1919 14 74216 June 1925 15 57916 June 1933 15 47717 May 1939 25 5301 December 1945 25 08429 October 1946 24 59831 August 1950 24 02031 December 1955 25 21531 December 1960 25 49731 December 1964 28 1901 January 1971 31 66131 December 1975 37 77131 December 1981 49 84931 December 1985 54 39231 December 1988 56 34531 December 1990 54 731 Year Population31 December 1995 53 59131 December 1998 50 18231 December 1999 49 20631 December 2000 48 02531 December 2001 46 76531 December 2002 45 56931 December 2003 44 52931 December 2004 43 65231 December 2005 42 68931 December 2006 41 86131 December 2007 41 01531 December 2008 40 17331 December 2009 39 52631 December 2010 38 77631 December 2011 38 21931 December 2012 35 96731 December 2013 35 665 Year Population31 December 2014 36 20831 December 2015 36 77831 December 2016 35 892 Census nbsp Evolution of population since 1870The area around Suhl was settled during the later Middle Ages nevertheless Suhl stayed a village resp small town of 1 000 to 2 000 inhabitants during this period The growth of proto industrial manufacturing businesses in 17th and 18th century led to a first increase of population up to 6 000 around 1800 During the following decades the industrial revolution in other German regions led to an economic crisis in Suhl because of the bad traffic conditions for exporting products Nevertheless the population grew further to 10 000 in the 1880s as the city got finally connected to the railway Compared to other upcoming cities in Germany the growth of population stayed slight until 1935 as Suhl counted 15 000 inhabitants Then the arm production for World War II brought an economic boom to Suhl and a growth of population up to 26 000 in 1940 which stayed the same until the early 1960s Between 1960 and 1988 the population grew up to 56 000 forced by the government s expansion of Suhl as a capital of one of the 14 Bezirks in GDR After the reunification in 1990 the city lost its administrative and economic functions which led to an extreme decline in population It shrunk to 48 000 in 2000 and 36 000 in 2012 With a decline of more than 35 since 1988 Suhl is among the heaviest shrinking cities in Germany The average decrease of population between 2009 and 2012 was approximately 1 68 p a which is faster than in bordering rural regions Suburbanization played only a small role in Suhl It occurred after the reunification for a short time in the 1990s but most of the suburban areas were situated within the administrative city borders During the 1990s and the 2000s many inhabitants left Suhl to search a better life in west Germany or other major east German cities like Erfurt Jena or Leipzig The birth deficit caused by the high average age of the population is getting a bigger problem because there is no immigration to compensate it yet Urban planning activities to tear down unused flats led to a relatively low vacancy rate of 8 according to 2011 EU census compared with a loss in population of more than 35 since 1988 The birth deficit was 207 in 2012 this is 5 8 per 1 000 inhabitants Thuringian average 4 5 national average 2 4 The net migration rate was 11 5 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2012 Thuringian average 0 8 national average 4 6 6 The most important target regions of Suhl migrants are other Thuringian regions like Erfurt Jena and Eisenach same as the western German conurbations Like other eastern German cities Suhl has only a small amount of foreign population around 1 5 are non Germans by citizenship and overall 3 9 are migrants according to 2011 EU census Differing from the national average the biggest groups of migrants in Suhl are Russians and Vietnamese people During recent years the economic situation of the city improved the unemployment rate declined from 16 in 2006 to 7 in 2013 which is one of the lowest rates among Thuringia s major cities Due to the official atheism in former GDR most of the population is non religious 12 6 are members of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and 2 5 are Catholics according to 2011 EU census Politics editThe first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Martin Kummer of the Christian Democratic Union CDU who served from 1990 to 2006 He was succeeded by independent Jens Triebel from 2006 to 2018 Andre Knapp of the CDU was elected in 2018 and has since served as mayor The most recent mayoral election was held on 15 April 2018 with a runoff held on 29 April and the results were as follows Candidate Party First round Second roundVotes Votes Jens Triebel Independent 6 129 42 5 6 597 47 6Andre Knapp Christian Democratic Union 5 470 37 9 7 267 52 4Philipp Weltzien The Left 2 010 13 9Stephan Nagel Social Democratic Party 827 5 7Valid votes 14 436 98 7 13 864 99 2Invalid votes 195 1 3 117 0 8Total 14 631 100 0 13 981 100 0Electorate voter turnout 30 537 47 9 30 506 45 8Source Wahlen in ThuringenThe most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019 and the results were as follows Party Lead candidate Votes Seats Christian Democratic Union CDU Andre Knapp 14 974 29 5 nbsp 3 4 11 nbsp 2Free Voters FW Jens Triebel 9 811 19 3 nbsp 2 9 7 nbsp 1The Left Die Linke Philipp Weltzien 9 291 18 3 nbsp 14 3 7 nbsp 5Alternative for Germany AfD Bernhard Meinunger 6 133 12 1 New 4 NewSocial Democratic Party SPD Uwe Theisinger 6 023 11 9 nbsp 3 2 4 nbsp 2Alliance 90 The Greens Grune Bernhard Hofmeier 2 890 5 7 nbsp 5 5 2 nbsp 2Free Democratic Party FDP Andreas Schmidt 1 660 3 3 nbsp 0 0 1 0Valid votes 17 085 97 9Invalid votes 361 2 1Total 17 446 100 0 36 0Electorate voter turnout 31 916 54 7 nbsp 9 7Source Wahlen in ThuringenEconomy and infrastructure editAgriculture industry and services edit nbsp A building of the former Simson factory with A 73 s Haseltal bridge in background nbsp Another former Simson buildingAgriculture plays no role in Suhl only 17 of the municipal territory are in agricultural use The soil isn t very fertile and the climate is harsh the most cultivated strains are maize and rapeseed furthermore there is cattle farming on some areas On the other hand 63 of the territory are forest so that wood production plays a role in Suhl Suhl s industry has always been based on metalworking In the past the city was a leading arms producer in Germany and the vehicle production was another pillar of the local industry After the reunification in 1990 the industry collapsed and the most factories got closed Important companies of today are CDA a producer of data replication media Zimbo a meat producer Gramss an industrial bakery Paragon a car parts supplier and Merkel the last remained arms producer in Suhl In 2012 there were 27 companies in industrial production with more than 20 workers employing 2 000 persons and generating a turnover of 295 million 7 Services in Suhl are including the typical regional supply like retail hospital cinema etc and some preserved administrative functions over the surrounding districts like the Industrie und Handelskammer and the regional centres of Arbeitsagentur and Rentenversicherung Furthermore tourism plays a role because of the beautiful landscape around In 2012 there were 93 000 hotel guests having 245 000 overnight stays in Suhl 8 Transport edit nbsp Local train to Erfurt at Suhl stationSuhl connected to the railway quite late because of its hilly terrain The Neudietendorf Ritschenhausen railway through the city was opened in 1882 southern direction to Wurzburg and in 1884 northern direction to Erfurt It was one of only few main mountain railways in Prussia with the large 3 039 metres 9 970 ft long Brandleite Tunnel north of the city Later this railway became an important link between Berlin and south western Germany until the inner German border cut it off in 1949 Since that time there is only regional traffic on the line except a short time in 1990s with long distance trains The express train runs every two hours to Erfurt in the north and Wurzburg in the south where connections to long distance trains are given Furthermore there are local trains to Erfurt and Meiningen running also every two hours so that there is overall a connection once an hour in both directions Another railway to Schleusingen was opened in 1911 and closed in 1997 With a gradient of nearly 7 it was one of the steepest regular railways in Germany Stations in Suhl besides the main station are located in Heinrichs and Dietzhausen whereas the Stations Suhler Neundorf and Friedberg at the Schleusingen line are abandoned Suhl is situated at the junction of Bundesautobahn 71 Erfurt Wurzburg and Bundesautobahn 73 Suhl Nuremberg Both got opened during the 2000s and host some impressive bridges and tunnels around Suhl like the Rennsteig Tunnel in the north and the 82 m high Haseltalbrucke at Heinrichs district A Bundesstrasse through Suhl was the Bundesstrasse 247 from Gotha in the north to Schleusingen in the south It was annulled after the opening of both Autobahns and is now a secondary road Other important secondary roads run to Meiningen in the west and Ilmenau in the east Biking is getting more and more popular since the construction of quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s For tourism serve the Hasel track from Suhl to the Werra valley near Meiningen Furthermore there are some mountainbiking tracks within the Thuringian Forest Public transport is carried out by a bus line network connecting the city centre with the outskirts Zella Mehlis and neighbouring villages A trolleybus system was planned during the late 1980s but not realized after the reunification Education editThere is only one Gymnasium school left in Suhl after others were closed due to the decline of the number of children after 1990 Culture edit nbsp Fahrzeugmuseum entrance There are some museums and other cultural institutions in Suhl The Waffenmuseum at Friedrich Konig Strasse shows an exhibition about the history of arm production in Suhl The Fahrzeugmuseum at Kongresszentrum hosts an exhibition of vehicles produced by Simson The Galerie im Atrium at Kongresszentrum shows temporary exhibitions of art The Sternwarte Suhl is the city s observatory at Hoheloh hill south west of the city centre The Tierpark Suhl is the zoological garden of the city at Carl Fiedler Strasse on the eastern city border The municipal orchestra founded in 1953 and based in the Kulturhaus at Friedrich Konig Strasse was closed in 2009 Sights editThe most significant sights in Suhl are St Mary s Church is the evangelical main parish church of Suhl built between 1753 and 1756 in late Baroque style The Holy Cross Church is the second evangelical parish church at Steinweg built between 1731 and 1739 in Baroque style The Holy Cross Chapel behind the eponymous church is one of the oldest buildings in Suhl established in 1618 Gothic style The town hall at Marktplatz was built between 1812 and 1817 and modified in 1913 to Neo Baroque style The Malzhaus at Friedrich Konig Strasse was built around 1650 and hosts the Waffenmusuem today The Kulturhaus at Friedrich Konig Strasse was built in 1957 in Neo Classicist style and demolished in 2013 Only the facade and the lobby remained Some buildings of the former Simson factory between the Heinrichs and Mabendorf districts in Bauhaus modern architecture of 1920s and 1930s remained The new municipal library at Bahnhofstrasse was built in 2004 in form of a glass cube Some older buildings remained in the district of Heinrichs including the church town hall and some picturesque timber framed houses west of the city centre Image gallery edit nbsp St Mary s Church nbsp Holy Cross Church nbsp Holy Cross Chapel nbsp Town hall nbsp Malzhaus hosting the arms museum nbsp Kulturhaus nbsp Town hall of Heinrichs districtTwin towns sister cities editSee also List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany Suhl is twinned with 9 nbsp Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic nbsp Begles France nbsp Kaluga Russia nbsp Lahti Finland nbsp Leszno Poland nbsp Smolyan Bulgaria nbsp Wurzburg GermanyNotable people editFriedrich Wilhelm Adami 1816 1889 journalist Christoph Bach 1613 1661 composer Georg Christoph Bach 1642 1697 composer progenitor of the Frankish Bach line from 1661 to 1668 cantor and schoolmaster in Heinrichs in Suhl Wilhelm Cuno 1876 1933 politician and businessman German chancellor 1922 1923 Claus Peter Flor born 1953 conductor Paul Greifzu 1902 1952 racing driver and racecar constructor Corinna Harfouch born 1954 actress Sandra Huller born 1978 actress Johann Peter Kellner 1705 1772 composer and organ builder Friedrich Koenig 1774 1833 contributed as an inventor of the flatbed press a decisive contribution to the development of the printing industry and worked for some time in Suhl Andre Lange born 1973 bobsledder multiple Olympic and world champion Hugo Schmeisser 1884 1953 developer of infantry weapons Louis Schmeisser 1848 1917 weapon technical designer Moses Simson 1808 1868 and Lob Simson 1806 1862 founders of the Simson worksReferences edit Gewahlte Burgermeister aktuelle Landesubersicht Freistaat Thuringen accessed 4 October 2022 Bevolkerung der Gemeinden erfullenden Gemeinden und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften in Thuringen Gebietsstand 31 12 2021 in German Thuringer Landesamt fur Statistik June 2022 Erzlagerstaetten Retrieved 26 August 2016 geo uni jena de geophysik Archived 2011 07 19 at the Wayback Machine Karte Bergbaugebiete um Suhl Retrieved 26 August 2016 According to Thuringer Landesamt fur Statistik Statistik Thuringer Landesamt fur Thuringer Landesamt fur Statistik Retrieved 26 August 2016 Statistik Thuringer Landesamt fur Thuringer Landesamt fur Statistik Retrieved 26 August 2016 Partnerstadte suhltrifft de in German Suhl Retrieved 2021 04 05 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suhl Official website in English and German Suhl Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed 1911 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Suhl amp oldid 1188434808, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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