Area
| Area | Total area: 16.172 km2 (6244 square miles) |
| Agricultural land | 793,505 ha |
| Share of arable land. | 613,952 ha |
| | Grassland | 176,333 ha |
| | Fruit plantations | 2,661 ha |
| | Tree nursery | 229 ha |
| | Horticultural land | 53 ha |
| | Vineyards | 47 ha |
| | Other cultivation | 230 ha |
| | (Christmas tree nurseries, basket willows, poplar plantations) | |
| Wooded area | 515,203 ha |
| Residential and commercial areas | 147,791 ha |
| Woodlands areas | 264 areas totalling 43,873 ha |
| Landscape conservation areas | 63 areas totalling 379,187 ha |
National park: “Hainich”
Biosphere reserves: “Rhön“, Vesser Valley – Thuringian Forest
Nature parks: “ Thuringian Forest“, “Kyffhäuser“,
“ Eichsfeld Hainich Werra Valley“
Thuringian Slate Mountains/Upper Saale River
European Network of Conservation Areas: “Natura 2000“
Road system
| Motorways | Total length: 667 km (414 miles) including motorway junctions |
| E 40/A 4 | (Frankfurt/Main) – Eisenach – Erfurt – Hermsdorfer Kreuz – Gera – (Dresden) |
| E 51/A 9 | (Berlin) – Hermsdorfer Kreuz – (Nuermberg) |
| A 38 | (Goettingen) – Heiligenstadt Health Resort – Leinefelde – Nordhausen – (Halle/S) |
| A 71 | Soemmerda – Erfurt – Suhl – Meiningen – (Schweinfurt) |
| A 73 | Suhl Triangle – Schleusingen – Eisfeld – (Coburg) |
| Selected federal highways | Total length of federal highways: 1,732 km (1,076 miles) |
| B 4 | (Braunschweig) – Nordhausen – Erfurt, Ilmenau – Eisfeld – (Bamberg) |
| B 7 | (Kassel) – Eisenach – Gotha – Erfurt – Weimar – Jena – Gera – Altenburg – (Rochlitz) |
| B 247 | (Duderstadt) – Worbis – Mühlhausen – Gotha – Ohrdruf, Suhl – Schleusingen |
Railway network
| Railway line network: | 1,509 km (937 miles) |
| among them: multiple-track lines | 435 km (270 miles) |
| | Electric lines | 409 km (254 miles) |
| | public federally owned
railway infrastructure | 1,263 km (785 miles) |
| | Public non-federally owned
railway infrastructure | 201 km (125 miles) |
| | among this: Narrow gauge routes | 22 km (14 miles) |
| | | among this: Technical monument
Oberweissbach mountain railway
(difference in altitude: 323 m (1060 ft) | 1,39 km |
Major inter-regional connections:
Intercity Express line Hamburg – Berlin – Leipzig –Jena – Saalfeld – München
Intercity Express line Wiesbaden – Frankfurt/M.– Fulda – Erfurt – Weimar – Leipzig – Dresden
ICE/IC line Düsseldorf – Kassel – Erfurt – Weimar – Halle – Berlin – Stralsund
Suburban passenger railway lines:
13 regional express lines
39 regional lines (including the EB,
STB, VGB, HSB and Cantus lines)
Culture
Selected architectural monuments, museums and memorials of prominent personalities
Altenburg: Palace Church with trost organ, Palace and Playing Card Museum, Lindenau Museum, Skat Fountain
Arnstadt: Palace Museum New Palace with dolls‘ town “Mon plaisir”, Bach Church, Bach House
Apolda: Bell and Town Museum, Avant Garde Art Gallery
Bad Blankenburg: Friedrich Fröbel Museum
Bad Köstritz: Heinrich Schütz’s House
Bad Frankenhausen: Panoramic Museum (Peasant’s War Monumental Painting), Regionalmuseum
Bauerbach: Schiller Memorial
Bürgel: Ceramics Museum
Cospeda bei Jena: Memorial of the battle at Jena and Auerstedt 1806
Eisenach: World Cultural Heritage Wartburg, Bach House, Luther House, Dominican Church
Eisfeld: Otto Ludwig Museum
Erfurt: Cathedral and St. Severi’s Church, Augustinian Monastery, (Luther Memorial) Preachers’ Church, Merchants’ Bridge, Former Mainz Governor’s House, Old synagogue, New synagogue, Angermuseum (visual arts), Museum of Thuringian Ethnic Studies, Museum of Natural History, “Haus zum Stockfisch” City Museum
Gera: Otto Dix House, Orangery, City Museum, Museum of Applied Art, Natural History Museum
Gotha: Schlossmuseum, Natural History Museum
Greiz: Schlossmuseum, Sommerpalais
Großkochberg: Goethe Memorial Kochberg Castle
Heiligenstadt: Theodor Storm Literature Museum
Ilmenau: Goethe Memorial Gabelbach Hunting Lodge and Kickelhahn #
Jena: Goethe Memorial, Schiller‘s Memorial and Garden House, House of Romanticism, Optical Museum, Phyletic Museum, “Göhre” Town Museum, Schott Glass Museum, Botanical Garden, Zeiss Planetarium
Lauscha: Museum of Art Glass
Meiningen: Elisabethenburg Palace Museum with Theatre and Literature Museum, Baumbach House
Moorgrund: Luther home town Möhra
Mühlhausen: St. Mary‘s Müntzer Memorial, Mühlhausen Museums, Divi-Blasii Church
Nordhausen: “Holy Cross” Cathedral
Oßmannstedt: Wieland Memorial
Römhild: Steinsburgmuseum (Celtic period)
Rudolstadt: Thuringian State Museum Heidecksburg, Schiller’s House
Schleusingen: Museum of Natural History Bertholdsburg Castle
Schmalkalden: Palace Church, St. George‘s Town Church, Luther Room
Sondershausen: Palace Museum, Experiential Mine · Sonneberg: Toy Museum
Suhl: Arms Museum
Weimar: Goethe‘s Residences on Frauenplan Square, Goethe‘s Garden House in the Ilm park, National Goethe Museum, Tiefurt Palace, Schiller House / Schiller Museum, Anna Amalia Library, Liszt House, St. Peter and Paul‘s Town Church with Cranach Altar (Johann G. Herder’s Memorial), Lucas Cranach Gallery, Wittum Palace, Nietzsche Archive, Bauhaus Museum, Residence Castle, Vande-Velde Building, Thuringian Museum for Pre- and Ancient History, Bee Museum, Roman House, Russian Orthodox Church »Haus am Horn«
Wurzbach: Heinrichshütte Foundry Technical Monument
Zeulenroda: Town hall
Ziegenrück: Museum of Water Power Utilization
Industry locations in Thuringia (selection)
Automobiles and automobile components: Bad Langensalza, Eisenach, Gera, Gehren, Gotha, Großenlupnitz, Haynrode, Heiligenstadt, Kölleda, Löbichau, Marksuhl, Merbelsrod, Mühlhausen, Nobitz, Nordhausen, Ohrdruf, Ronneburg, Schleiz, Schlotheim, Sonneberg, Stadtilm, Triptis, Waltershausen, Weißensee, Zella-Mehlis
Mechanical engineering/Manufacture of metal parts: Barchfeld, Dingelstädt, Eisenach, Eisfeld, Eisenberg, Erfurt, Gera, Gotha, Haynrode, Immelborn, Jena, Königsee, Löbichau, Meiningen, Meuselwitz, Mühlhausen, Neuhaus-Schierschnitz, Nordhausen, Queienfeld, Saalfeld, Schmalkalden, Seebach, Sonneberg, Stadtilm, Steinbach-Hallenberg, Suhl, Tambach-Dietharz, Viernau, Weimar, Wiehe, Zella-Mehlis
Medical technology, measurement and control engineering, optics: Gera, Ilmenau, Jena, Königsee, Mühlhausen, Ruhla, Rudolstadt, Saalfeld, Schmalkalden, Suhl, Triptis, Zeulenroda
Glass industry, ceramics: Auma, Bad Berka, Deuna, Großbreitenbach, Großengottern, Heringen (Helme), Hermsdorf, Ilmenau, Jena, Kahla, Krölpa, Lauscha, Langewiesen, Neuhaus (a. Rwg.), Piesau, Schleusingen, Sonneberg, Veilsdorf, Weinbergen-Höngeda
Office machines and data processing equipment: Erfurt, Jena, Kindelbrück, Kölleda, Meuselwitz, Sömmerda
Chemical products: Bad Köstritz, Blankenhain, Breitungen, Erfurt, Gerstungen, Gotha, Greiz, Jena, Rudolstadt/Schwarza, Stadtilm, Unterbreizbach, Weimar
Printing industry: Altenburg, Bad Langensalza, Erfurt, Gebesee, Gera, Günthersleben-Wechmar, Löbichau, Pößneck, Suhl, Weimar
Machines for generating electricity: Arnstadt, Bad Lobenstein, Barchfeld, Brotterode, Crossen, Elster, Eisenach, Erfurt, Hermsdorf, Jena, Mühlhausen, Sondershausen, Suhl, Vacha, Wutha-Farnroda
Rubber and synthetic products: Bad Blankenburg, Bad Langensalza, Creuzburg, Eisenberg, Eisfeld, Erfurt, Gotha, Greiz, Mihla, Nobitz, Nohra, Ohrdruf, Schmölln, Seebach, Tanna, Triptis, Waltershausen
Furniture, jewellery, Toys, sports equipment: Altenburg, Eisfeld, Eisenberg, Erfurt, Geschwenda, Gotha, Heiligenstadt, Körner, Lauscha, Nordhausen, Pfaffschwende, Rauenstein, Schlotheim, Sonneberg, Weida, Weißensee
Paper industry: Blankenstein, Berka (Werra), Heiligenstadt, Korbußen, Lucka, Rositz, Rudolstadt, Nordhausen, Wernshausen
Radio and telecommunications technology: Erfurt, Gera, Hermsdorf, Jena, Kölleda, Lehesten, Sondershausen, Wutha-Farnroda
Food industry: Altenburg, Apolda, Arnstadt, Bad Köstritz, Bad Langensalza, Erfurt, Floh-Seligenthal, Gera, Gotha, Hainspitz, Jena, Kahla, Meiningen, Mühlhausen, Nohra, Nordhausen, Ohrdruf, Pößneck, Rudolstadt/Schwarza, Saalfeld, Schmalkalden, Schmölln, Suhl, Weimar
Textile industry: Apolda, Bad Langensalza, Diedorf, Geismar, Gera, Heiligenstadt, Leinefelde, Mühlhausen, Zeulenroda
Timber industry: Creuzburg, Gotha, Hirschberg, Ichtershausen, Niederorschel, Neustadt/Orla, Saalburg-Ebersdorf, Sonneborn, Zeulenroda
Research and technology
Foundations for research and technology: Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation); Ernst-Abbe-Stiftung (Ernst Abbe Foundation, EAS); Thuringian Technology, Innovation and Research Foundation (STIFT)
Clusters on the areas: Automotive suppliers, electronic measuring equipment, manufacturing technology and metal working, plastics technology, media, medical engineering, biotechnology, micro-nanotechnologies, optical technologies, solar technology: photovoltaics/
solar thermal energy
Selected research institutes:
Bad Langensalza: fzmb GmbH – Research Centre for Medical Engineering and Biotechnology
Erfurt: CiS Institute for Micro Sensor Technology GmbH, Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops
Greiz: Thuringia-Vogtland Textile Research Institute
Heiligenstadt: Institute for Bioprocess and Analysis Measuring Technology
Hermsdorf: Hermsdorf Institute for Technical Ceramics
Jena: Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Mechanics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Günter Köhler Institute for Assembly Engineering and Materials Testing GmbH, Hans Knöll Institute, Helmholtz-Institute, INNOVENT e.V., Institute for Photonic Technology e. V., Leibniz Institute of Gerontology – Fritz Lipmann Institute, Leibniz Institute for Research into Natural Substances and the Biology of Infection e.V, Max Planck Institute for Economics, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Ilmenau: Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT, Fraunhofer Application Center for System Technology (AST) in the Fraunhofer Institute for Information and Data Processing IITB at the Technical University, Institute for Micro Electronics and Mechatronics GmbH
Rudolstadt: Thuringian Institute for Textile and Synthetic Materials Research
Schmalkalden: GFE - Schmalkalden Society for Manufacturing Technology and Development
Tautenburg: Thuringian State Observatory
Weimar: Research Station for Quaternary Palaeontology of the Senckenberg Nature Research Society, Materials Research and Testing Institute at the Bauhaus University
Political Structure
Persons eligible to vote: 1,910,074
Votes cast: 1,073,651
Valid votes: 1,054,297
| 329,302 | 31.2 % | Christian Democratic Union
(CDU) |
| 288,915 | 27.4 % | The Left Party
(DIE LINKE) |
| 195,363 | 18.5 % | Social Democratic Party
(SPD) |
| 80,600 | 7.6 % | Free Democratic Party
(F.D.P.) |
| 64,912 | 6.2 % | Alliance 90/Greens
(Bündnis 9o/Die Grünen) |
State government
| Prime Minister | Christine Lieberknecht (CDU) |
Minister of Education, Science and Culture and
Deputy Minister President | Christoph Matschie (SPD) |
| Minister of the Interior | Jörg Geibert (CDU) |
| Minister of Justice | Dr. Holger Poppenhäger (SPD) |
| Finance Minister | Dr. Wolfgang Voß (CDU) |
| Minister of Economy, Employment and Technology | Matthias Machnig (SPD) |
| Minister of Social Affairs, Welfare and Health | Heike Taubert (SPD) |
Minister of Agriculture, forestry, the Environment and
Nature Conservation | Jürgen Reinholz (CDU) |
| Minister of Construction, State Development and Transportation | Christian Carius (CDU) |
Minister of Federal and European Affairs and
Head of the State Chancellery | Marion Walsmann (CDU) |
Towns and cities
| Erfurt (State capital) | 205,360 |
| Jena | 104,806 |
| Gera | 98,995 |
| Weimar | 65,390 |
| Gotha | 45,928 |
| Nordhausen | 44,189 |
| Eisenach | 42,731 |
| Suhl | 38,545 |
| Mühlhausen | 36,210 |
| Altenburg | 35,965 |
Population
Overall population: 2,227,072 inhabitants of whom 47,094 are foreigners (2.1 % of the overall population)
Administrative structure
Disrtricts: 17
Communities: 901
among this:
Towns and cities: 120
Towns not affiiliated to districts: 6
GfG (Autonomous communities): 116
VG (Jointly administered communities): 79
(As per: June 2011)
