Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a population of 20,065.
History First mentioned in an 874 deed, Smalcalta in the Frankish duchy of Thuringia received town privileges about 1180. When Landgrave Henry Raspe of Thuringia 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 acquisition the Counts of Henneberg allied with the Landgraviate of Hesse, including the conclusion of an inheritance treaty. In 1360, together with Landgrave Henry II of Hesse they 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 Province of Saxony in 1944 and in 1945 became part of the State of Thuringia.
The town sustained heavy bomb damage in World War II. From 1949 on, with Thuringia, it formed part of East Germany. After reunification it attained its present political configuration. In July 2018 the former municipality of Springstille was merged into Schmalkalden.
Notable people Date Name 1638–1707 Christoph Cellarius Scholar 1758–1827 Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach Colonel 1815–1873 Karl Wilhelm Choral director 1823–1898 August Rossbach Philologist and archaeologist 1892–1966 Kurt Jahn General 1903–1981 Otto H. Schade Television pioneer born 1941 Angela Steinmüller Mathematician and author 1957–2021 Heiko Salzwedel Cycling coach and team manager born 1960 Kirsten Tackmann Politician born 1967 Frank Luck Biathlete born 1971 Sven Fischer Biathlete born 1974 Anja Knippel Runner born 1975 Steffi Jacob Skeleton racer born 1976 Kati Wilhelm Biathlete born 1978 Alexander Wolf Biathlete born 1990 Christin Ulrich Weightlifter
International relations
Schmalkalden is twinned with: Fontaine, Isère, France Recklinghausen, Germany
Notes
References