thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 1 THÜRINGEN BLÄTTER ZUR LANDESKUNDE he ‘Land’ Thu- to the formation of a ringia received nation, yet simulta- Tnumerous attri- neously to castigate the butes in view of its cataclysmic fragmen- history, such as “heart- tation: “Our culture land of German cultu- owes a lot, re”, “centre of Refor- but our does not mation”, “home of the owe anything” (Hein- Bach family” and “land rich von Treitschke). of classicism”. The more recent his- The landscape, steep- toriography reversed ed in culture and tra- this verdict as it unco- dition, around the Wart- vered significant politi- burg castle and the cal, social, and econo- had not mic forces of innova- been unified tion that originated until the 20th century, from Thuringia. but instead a prime ex- Considering the step- ample of German par- by-step unification be- ticularism. This provo- tween 1920 and 1990, ked the historiography the positive develop- of the 19th century to (Thoma Babovic, ments prevail: the emphasize the cultural Thüringer Tourismus GmbH) princely spirit of re- impulses that derived presentation bestowed from Thuringia leading splendid castles, parks,

Thuringia An Historical Overview

museums, libraries and theatres in a ny, despite changing views on this mat- unique density upon the “Land of Re- ter. sidencies” and made it synonymous The Mediaeval Empire was gradually with the ‘Land’ of writers and think- weakened for the benefit of the regional ers. Thuringia, however, continues to powers to the point of their de facto be regarded as a leading example of independence after the Thirty Years’ the longlasting, territorial fragmenta- War (1618–48). These events bestowed tion that is characteristic of Germa- some petty princes, particularly in south- thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 2

west and central , several were two distinctive historic reference secular and ecclesiastical estates on a points that anchored Thuringia deeply relatively small territory. The territorial in the collective memory; despite the splintering was in Thuringia most century-old particularism: the Early prominent, at times there were 30 state- Mediaeval Kingdom of Thuringia and entities and nowhere else it lasted for the Landgraviate of the Ludowingian such a long period. Nevertheless, there .

From the Thuringian Kingdom to the Landgraviate of Thuringia

he “Thoringi” tribe emerged from ring dynasty of the Carolings, who were the Germanic tribes of the Her- rulers of the Frankish kingdom since Tmunduren, the Anglii and the 751. The Christianisation movement Warnii in the course of the early migra- met its first completion with the found- tion period and was for the first time ing of the diocese of (which referred to by the Roman author Vege- should soon belong to Mainz) by the tius Renatus. In the 5th century, the missionary Bonifatius in 742. Thoringi were able to establish a pow- Since the 9th century, the German erful kingdom. It extended across a Empire had grown gradually from the small central settlement, situated at the eastern part of the Frankish Empire. area of ‘’ and the river ‘’ up Under the rule of the Ottonian-Saxon to the rivers ‘’ and Danube. (919–1024), it constituted one of Signifying an important aspect of power the most important pillars of the central in the late ancient Germanic , power. The close relations to the the kingdom was allied with the Ot- diminished with the takeover by the Sa- rogoth kingdom of Theoderic the Great. lian dynasty. This was the beginning of Family bonds led to the marriage be- the rise of a local lineage that bred the tween Theodoric’s niece Amalaberga of Thuringia (1131–1247) and the Thuringian King Herminafrid and gained great significance during in 510. Yet, after Theoderic’s death the period (1138–1254). (526), the Thuringians were defeated in The Ludowingian dynasty emanated a crushing battle at the river ‘’ from and was named after its by the armies of the Franks and the first-born male dignitaries. Guided by . In 534, Herminafrid was assas- Louis the Bearded (Ludwig der Bär- sinated. At this point, Thuringia ceased tige), they settled in the area of Fried- to be an independent actor on the politi- richroda around 1040. His son Louis cal stage. the Jumper (Ludwig der Springer, 1080– Thuringia became an integral part of 1123), who was the legendary founder the Frankish Empire, ruled by the Me- of the castles Wartburg, Neuenburg and rovingian kings. The Christianisation the monastery , suc- process, which begun in the 6th cen- ceeded with the expansion of manors, tury, was accelerated under the aspi- fiefs and dominions inside Thuringia. thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 3

His son Louis, in turn, successfully ex- minstrel’s contest (Sängerkrieg) at the tended the Ludowingian dominion by Wartburg (1206/07), which was symbol accumulating property on the territory for the chivalric-courtly noble culture of . that was practiced at the court of the In 1131, Louis I (1131–1140) was en- landgraviate (initiated and influenced feoffed with the newly established hon- by Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolf- ors of a Thuringian by the ram von Eschenbach and Heinrich Vel- Holy Roman Emperor Lothar of Sup- decke). Louis IV the Godly (1217–1227) plinburg. The Ludowingians, who were is known as the husband of the Holy supposed to consolidate the peace and Elizabeth of Thuringia until today. The ensure sovereignty, soon counted to coronation of Louis’ successor Henry the most powerful rulers amongst the Raspe to become regent in 1246, how- imperial princes. Louis II (1140–1172) ever, did not represent a worthy height reenforced the bonds with the Hohen- of the Ludowingian reign. Not only was staufen emperor through the marriage Henry unable to enforce his ‘anti-king- with a half-sister of Frederick I Barba- dom’ against Frederick II of the Hohen- rossa. Under the rule of Louis III (1172– staufen dynasty, but also with his death 1190), the landgraviate increased sig- the Ludowingian lineage was extin- nificantly its influence in the course of guished as there were no male heirs to the disempowerment of Henry the throne by 1247. A bloody war of suc- the Lion (Heinrich der Löwe, 1180/81) cession ended with the separation of of the Guelph dynasty. the landgraviate in a Thuringian and a The reign of Hermann I (1190–1217) Hessian part in 1264. The Thuringian represented a glamorous peak, because landgraviate fell to the of he was affiliated with the legendary of the Wettin family.

The Land of Particularism

uring the Late , the Wettin family was divided by the repeat- possessed far- ed distribution of the estate among Dreaching land, extending beyond heirs and coheirs and finally separated the of today’s , Thu- into two ruling branches – an Ernestine ringia, and the southern Saxony-Anhalt. branch (Thuringian) and an Albertine In 1423, they were invested with the branch (Ducal Saxony) in 1485, ruled of Saxony, centred at Witten- by the brother Ernest and Albert re- berg, thus becoming one of the prince- spectively. Initially, the Ernestine branch electors of the . held with the possession of Also in Thuringia, they were able to ex- also the electoral . Wittenberg and tend their possessions (, Co- the title, however, were lost to the Al- burg, Weimar) as well as to establish bertine branch with the defeat by the themselves as the most powerful force Emperor and Duke Moritz at the Battle after the ‘War of Thuringian ’ of Mühlberg during the Schmalkaldic (1342–46). The entire property of the War in 1547. The Albertines drove the thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 4

development of the electorate (from to the development of the ‘bylines’ Arn- 1806 kingdom) Saxony into a unitary stadt and Ebeleben. Apart from Henry territorial state forward and made Dres- Raspe, Günther von Schwarzburg obtain- den its capital. ed royal dignity, which he held for an The, in Weimar residing, Ernestine equally short time and with no note- proceeded quite differently: be- worthy effects. ginning with the ‘Erfurt division’ (Er- Therefore, Thuringia was in large furter Teilung) of 1572, the Ernestine part dominated by three across territory was repeatedly subdivided the centuries, yet further constituent into as many as ten single and parts have to be added: the imperial in Thuringia (Eisenach, , of Mühlhausen and , , Eisenberg, , the Hessian territory of , Römhild). After a final restructuring in the electorates of Mainz (Erfurt, Eichs- 1826, the duchies Saxe-Weimar-Eise- feld) and the Albertine territories be- nach (since 1815 ), Saxe- tween Langensalza and and and , Saxe- around , and Ziegen- and Saxe-Altenburg remained in ex- rück. istence until 1918. The old Thuringian Erfurt was prom- Alongside the Wettin family, two inent as a cultural and commercial hub other noble dynasties were able to es- and as one of the biggest German urban tablish themselves as territorial rulers; centres of mediaeval times. Erfurt had the members of the Reußen lineage of gained farreaching autonomy, similar eastern Thuringia, first accounted of in to a free imperial and was a sub- the , whose title of stantial power centre with its adjacent was confirmed by the Holy Roman Em- territory since the middle of the 13th peror (Count of the Holy Roman Em- century. After its subjection through the pire) in 1673 and who received the title ruler of Mainz, it remained the seat of a of ‘Princely Counts’ (Reichsfürst) in 1778. of the Electorate of Mainz. At certain intervals, the Reuß dynasty Other powerful counts originated from subdivided its land in numerous small the in the south- entities such as , Lobenstein, west of Thuringia, who became extinct Ebersdorf, Hirschberg, Saalburg, Burgk, in 1583 and whose possessions were Dölau and Rothenthal. The last territo- taken over by the Wettins. rial redeployment in 1848 resulted in Whilst the single states managed to the existence of a of Reuß resist all consolidations that took place Elder Line () and the Principality between the French Revolution and the of Reuß Younger Line (). Congress of (1789–1815), parts of The House of Schwarzburg was nam- the remaining territories (Erfurt, Eichs- ed after its ancestral origin in the Thu- feld, Nordhausen and Mühlhausen) fell ringian Forest and its possessions can to the Kingdom of in 1802. be traced back to the 8th century. In After the defeat of Prussia against Na- 1697, the Schwarzburg family also poleon at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in received the rank of ‘Princely Counts’ October 1806 and the French occupa- and their territory was subdivided into tion until 1813/1814, all states, includ- the branches of Schwarzburg-Sonders- ing the territories of the Electorate of hausen and Schwarzburg- in Saxony, were ultimately handed over to 1599. Further splintering did not take Prussia. Henceforth, Thuringia was bi- place, only in the 17th century it came partite, consisting of a free single state thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 5

and a Prussian part, the core of which 1521/22, where the reformer translated was the 1816 created government dis- the from into Ger- trict Erfurt in the Saxony. In man. In 1548, Frederick’s nephew John addition, there were the Schmal- Frederick (“Hanfried”) founded as sub- kalden (Province Hesse-Nassau, since stitute for the University of Wittenberg 1866) as well as, according to contem- (1502) that was lost to the Albertines in porary understanding, parts of the ad- 1547, the “Hohe Schule” (from 1558 ministrative district (San- university) in Jena. Later, it should be- gershausen, , Querfurt, come the Protestant University of the Weißenfels, Naumburg and ) that territory. were counted towards the ‘Prussian The widely ramified Bach family also Thuringia’. calls Thuringia its home; Johann Se- The founding of the bastian Bach was born in Eisenach in in 1871 did not have a noticeable effect 1685 and first employed in , on these circumstances. The new fed- Mühlhausen and Weimar. Furthermore, eral nationstate unified 22 , many famous names have to be men- three Hanseatic and the area of tioned such as: the mystic Meister Eck- -Lorraine. From now on, nearly hart, Thomas Müntzer, who was the one third of all sovereign princes (Bis- spearhead in the Peasant’s War in Thu- marck’s “wrens”) were crowded in the ringia (1525), Lucas Cranach and Hein- Thuringian . The German heg- rich Schütz as well as , emonic power Prussia gained an in- , , Ernst Barlach, creasingly significant position in Thu- Friedrich Nietzsche, Henry van de Vel- ringia; it was origin of important de and Walter Gropius. economic impulses, as it took over the The cultural landscape of Thuringia railway network, accelerated the mod- was most heavily influenced by the ernisation of the legal, administrative, Weimar Classicism or alternatively by and educational systems and - the ‘Goethe period’ (1775–1832), which tained garrisons in nearly all single sta- represented the golden age of the Duchy tes. Despite the partly political back- of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The ‘Musen- wardness, this led together with the ’ (court of muses) of the Duchess nimbus of a unifying power to the crea- Anna Amalia and the regency of her tion of a Prussian patriotism within the son Carl August, Grand Duke of Saxe- accordant territories. Weimar-Eisenach (1775–1828) attract- Thuringia’s historic significance is es- ed many great thinkers, literati and pecially concentrated within the cul- artists of the time to the so-called tural realm. It represents the heartland ‘Athens of the ’ (the Ilm is a long of the that took its course river in Thuringia, which is a left trib- with Luther’s pronouncement of his 95 utary of the ): alongside the poet Theses at Wittenberg. laureate Johann Wolfgang von Goe- visited the, at that time leading, Univer- the, , Johann sity of Erfurt (1392) and between 1501 Gottfried Herder and and 1505 he lived as monk in the St. Au- worked and resided here. At the same gustine monastery before he relocated time, the developed to Wittenberg. The Elector of Saxony, into a centre of Philosophic Idealism Frederick the Wise (1486–1525) be- (Fichte, Schelling, Hegel) and of Early came Luther’s patron and facilitated Romanticism (Schlegel, Tieck, Brenta- Luther’s residence at the Wartburg in no, Novalis). Schiller taught as profes- thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 6

sor at the University of Jena, from 1789 Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha until 1793. (1844 –1893), nonetheless, there were Saxe-Weimar also experienced a ‘sil- also conservative rulers still in power, ver age’ under the Grand Duke Carl whereby a general reorientation was Alexander (1853 –1901), who renewed clearly notable at the turn of the cen- the Wartburg Castle, retained the tradi- tury. tion of the Weimar classical period and The industrialisation that had begun promoted Franz Liszt. The rulers of in the middle of the 19th century had the smaller single-states were likewise varied innovative features, especially keen to distinguish themselves as pa- the University of Jena advanced to a trons. In Gotha, Ernest the Pious (1640 – leading example of scientific-techno- 1675) attempted to create a prototype of logical progress (Zeiss, Schott). As aspir- an absolutist state and in Meiningen, ing industrial region, Thuringia be- George II (1866 –1914) had contribu- came early a political centre for the ted significantly to the history of Ger- workers’ movement, where path-brea- man theatre. king party congresses took place: for On the way to 19th century’s moder- example, the foundation of social dem- nity, important impulses originated from ocracy under the political leadership of Thuringia. It existed a favourable cli- and mate for the liberal national movement; in Eisenach in 1869, and in 1875 the for instance, Saxe-Weimar’s constitu- consolidation with the General German tion of the year 1816 was the first of its Workers’ Association led by Ferdinand kind. The 1817, the Lassalle in Gotha, and the elaboration founding of the German fraternity at Je- of the Erfurt Program of 1891, according na in 1818 and the preparations for the to which the name ‘Sozialdemokratische National Fraternity Union at Eisenach Partei Deutschlands’ (SPD/ Social Dem- in 1859 underline the propitious condi- ocratic Party of Germany) was adopted. tions. Moreover, there was the liberal

The ‘Freistaat’ of Thuringia

he desire to form a united state of After all, it was (1914 –18) Thuringia had been existing and the end of the monarchies during Tsince a long time. The unifying the German Revolution, which de- ambitions had emerged during the cisively accelerated the unification pro- Revolution of 1848/49. At the beginning cess. After the union of the two Reuß of the 20th century, the demands be- states, seven single staates remained, came increasingly louder mainly be- which amal-gamated to the of cause the structures of the small single- Thuringia (Freistaat Thüringen) with states were clearly outdated. Especially, Weimar as its capital on May 1, 1920. the writing of the social democrat Merely, Coburg was not integrated, Arthur Hofmann from Meiningen, “The because of its accession to and misery of the small states in Thuringia” the Prussian territories did not belong (1906) sparked fierce controversies. to the new Thuringian state. thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 7

Whereas the process of the land-for- NSDAP, led by its head of Nazi district mation (1918/20) appeared, to a large () Fritz Sauckel took over al- extent, to work with the consensus of most sole government responsibility. all political camps, the conduct of the After Hitler’s takeover, Sauckel man- inner-arrangements ran less smoothly. aged to distinguish Thuringia as a - The first coalition-government formed prototype of the Third Reich. Weimar by the SPD and left-wing liberal demo- was made, in ostentatious NS-manner, crats (1920/21) that had placed its focus the power-centre of the Gau and the on social justice, failed soon. A bloody concentration camp Buchenwald was civil war, enhanced by the Kapp-Putsch built (1937–1945) in close proximity, in 1920, created profound where 50.000 people were killed. Simul- trenches between the socialist working taneously, Sauckel was able to extend class and the bourgeois-conservative his power throughout Thuringia. In stratum. The result was a development 1944, he received the title and authority of pronounced political camps that bene- of the highest governor of the admin- fited only the radical parties. For the istrative district Erfurt. time being, the from 1921– 23 incum- Only with the end of World War II the bent social democratic government led ‘Land’ Thuringia was founded, includ- by August Frölich remained dependent ing the former Prussian territories that on the communists, which culminated in was largely on par with Thuringia’s ter- the joint “Volksfrontregierung” (Popu- ritory of today. After a short period of lar Front government) in autumn 1923. American occupation, Thuringia trans- It represented the height of the con- ferred to the Soviet occupation zone in troversial “red Thuringia” that became July 1945 according to Allied agree- a centre of reform efforts (“Greilsche ments and became later part of the 1949 Schulreform) and modern culture founded DDR (German Democratic Re- ( Weimar 1919 –1924). Under public). With the introduction of “dem- the bourgeois-conservative govern- ocratic centralism” (demokratischer ments from 1924 until 1929, most of Zentralismus), Thuringia was divided the reforms of the last years were into the of Erfurt, Gera and reversed. From this point in time, the Suhl in 1952. The rigid “build-up of National Socialist German Workers’ Socialism” (Aufbau des Sozialismus), Party (NSDAP) gained increasingly in- was only shortly slowed down by the fluence on the policy-making and pol- upheaval of June 17, 1953 with its cen- itics of the Thuringian parliament (Land- tre of gravity being in eastern Thurin- tag). Thus, Thuringia had become an gia (Jena, Gera, Wismutregion), and early stronghold of national social- led to the transformation of virtually all ism. areas of state, society and economy. In In 1930/31, the developments led to the periods of seeming consolidation, the government participation of the for instance, after the construction of NSDAP – the very first time in the Wei- the Wall, the industrially developed mar Republic. Under the Minister of the Thuringia became a centre of “DDR- Interior and Education Wilhelm Frick, Hochtechnologie” (GDR-high-technolo- the National Socialists were allowed to gy) (Carl Zeiss Jena, Mikroelektronik gather useful experiences that can be Erfurt). At the end of the 80ies the considered as a trial run for the later demise of the “real existing socialism” takeover. In fact, it came to an early (real existierender Sozialismus) beca- takeover in August 1932, when the me increasingly apparent. thüringen Historischer Überblick englisch 02.02.2009 10:40 Uhr Seite 8

The turning point (Wende) and the that the social and economic change reunification of Germany in 1989/90, brought (deindustrialisation, unemploy- also meant the irrevocable integration ment, decline in population). Nonethe- of Thuringia. The three districts com- less, in many areas Thuringia is able to bined with the districts of Altenburg, show good results in comparison with Schmölln and constituted the other new federal states. ‘Bundesland’ with a surface area of The famous cultural landscape com- 16.171 km2 and 2,7 million inhabitants. bined with the charming nature of the Under the 16 federal states Thuringia “green heart of Germany” attract tour- ranks on 11th or as the case may be on ists from across Germany and the 10th position. Erfurt became the capital world. The inhabitants’ strong bond to of the new Thuringia. Since the adop- their “” is typical of Thuringia. tion of the constitution in 1993, it has Despite the diversity of state entities been named “Freistaat Thüringen” and administrative units, there has (Free State of Thuringia) on the basis always been the awareness that there of 1920. After a first coalition govern- was a superordinate unity, which par- ment formed between CDU (Christian ticularly referred to the landgraviate Democratic Union) and FDP (Free De- of Thuringia. Today, Thuringia’s coat mocratic Party) (1990–94) as well as a of arms reminds symbolically of the grand coalition between CDU and SPD historic “unity within diversity” by pic- (1994–99), Thuringia has been govern- turing the red-silver streaked Ludo- ed by the CDU with an absolute ma- wingian ‘Thuringian Lion’ on blue jority (state premiers: 1990 – 92 Josef background surrounded by eight silver Duchacˇ, 1992 – 2003 Bernhard Vogel, stars that represent the former single since 2003 Dieter Althaus). Thuringia states and Prussian territories. could not escape the drastic problems Dr. Steffen Raßloff

Herausgeber: Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Thüringen Regierungsstraße 73, 99084 Erfurt, Germany www.lzt.thueringen.de Author: Dr. Steffen Raßloff Translation: Julia Palme 2009