Meiningen
Encyclopedia
Meiningen is a town in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 - located in the southern part of the state of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

 and is the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen
Schmalkalden-Meiningen
Schmalkalden-Meiningen is a Landkreis in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Its neighboring districts are the districts Wartburgkreis, Gotha, Ilm-Kreis, the district-free city Suhl, the district Hildburghausen, the Bavarian district Rhön-Grabfeld, and the district Fulda in Hesse.- History :The...

. It is situated on the river Werra
Werra
The Werra is a river in central Germany, the right-source river of the Weser. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After 293 km the Werra joins the river Fulda in the town of Hann. Münden, forming the Weser....

.

Meiningen is considered the cultural, judicial and financial center of southern Thuringia and is economically reliant on tourism and high-tech industry. The city lies in the linguistic area of Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...

.

History

Meiningen was first mentioned in 982. Emperor Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...

 donated Meiningen in 1008 to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Würzburg, and it remained for 534 years part of Würzburg. The town was first mentioned in 1230 as a city. Meiningen in 1542 came to the House of Henneberg
House of Henneberg
-Origins:The distant origins of this family are speculative yet seem to originate in the Rhine Valley, east of modern-day France. Charibert, a nobleman in Neustria is the earliest recorded ancestor of the family, dating before 636. Five generations pass between Charibert and the next descendant...

 and then in 1583, to the Ernestine duchies
Ernestine duchies
The Ernestine duchies, also called the Saxon duchies , were a changing number of small states largely located in the present German state of Thuringia, governed by dukes of the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin.-Overview:The...

.

Between 1680 to 1918, it was the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen
The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia....

. The fairy tale collector and writer Ludwig Bechstein
Ludwig Bechstein
Ludwig Bechstein was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales.He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappeared even before the birth of the child, and Ludwig thus grew up his first nine years in...

 was an archivist in Meiningen. One of the princesses of Saxe-Meiningen, Adelheid Louise Theresa Caroline Amelia von Sachsen-Meiningen
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...

, became the wife of the King William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

 of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 in 1818. She is the namesake of the Australian city Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

. The first Meiningen Court Theatre opene in 1831. The city was connected by the Werra Railway
Werra Railway
The Werra Railway is a single-tracked main line with a standard gauge of 1,435 mm in Thuringia and Bavaria in southern and central Germany, that runs mostly along the river Werra. It runs from Eisenach via Meiningen to Eisfeld and, formerly, continued to Coburg and Lichtenfels. It was opened...

 with the German railway network in 1858. By the beginning of the 20th Century, the existence of several large banks led to Meiningen becoming an important financial center in Germany.

The Duchy was abolished at the end of the First World War. During the Second World War, Meiningen was the location of a prisoner of war hospital. A heavy air raid on Meiningen on February 23, 1945, by the USAF caused 208 deaths, destroyed 251 houses and two bridges, and damaged 440 buildings in total. Meiningen was liberated by American armed forces in April 1945. In July 1945, the town was included in the Eastern occupation zone along with the rest of Thuringia.

After German reunification, Meiningen became the district town of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. In the Dreißigacker district, new businesses and the new Meiningen Hospital were constructed. In 2003, the city was connected to the Autobahn No. 71
Bundesautobahn 71
is an Autobahn under construction in Germany. When completed, it will connect the A 38 and Erfurt to the A 70 near Schweinfurt.Construction on the A 71, supervised by DEGES, began in 1996, most parts were being opened by December 2005. Completion is projected for 2008...

.

Main sights

  • Schloss Elisabethenburg
    Schloss Elisabethenburg
    Schloss Elisabethenburg is a Baroque castle located on the northwestern edge of Meiningen in Germany. Until 1918 it was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen...

    , castle, built 1692
  • Landsberg Castle, built 1840
  • The Meininger Theater, built 1909
  • Goetz-Höhle, guided cave tours
  • Dampflokwerk Meiningen
    Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works
    The Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works is a railway repair shop in Meiningen, Germany. It is owned by Deutsche Bahn and has specialised in the maintenance of museum steam locomotives since 1990, having extensive experience in maintaining steam engines. Today, customers of the factory include...

     (Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works)
  • The English Garden in the city center
  • Protestant parish church of Our Lady, begun in the year 1000
  • Little Palace, built 1823
  • Great Palace, built 1823
  • Neighborhood in the classic style
  • Districts in the eclectic style
  • Some half-timbered houses (Büchnersches Hinterhaus, Henneberger Haus, Hartungsche Haus, Rassmannsche Haus)
  • Bechstein
    Ludwig Bechstein
    Ludwig Bechstein was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales.He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappeared even before the birth of the child, and Ludwig thus grew up his first nine years in...

     Fountain
  • Emperor Henry II
    Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
    Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...

     Fountain
  • Fountain Chapel
  • Monument to Johannes Brahms
    Johannes Brahms
    Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...


Theatre

The Meiningen Theatre offers musical theater (opera, operetta, musicals), plays, symphony concerts, puppet shows, ballet and youth theater. The Meiningen Court Theater was opened on December 17, 1831. It was destroyed in a fire in 1908 and was replaced in 1909 by a neo-classical building. The theatre was called the Meininger. It featured plays and gave concerts, and traveled throughout Germany and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The activity of the Theaterherzog Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914.-Family and early life:...

 (1866–1914) lead to international celebrity. Today its name is "Südthüringisches Staatstheater". It has more than 300 people employed and provides a huge area for opera and drama. The Director is Ansgar Haag.

Hofkapelle

The "Meiningen Court Orchestra
Meiningen Court Orchestra
The Meiningen Court Orchestra is one of the oldest and most traditional orchestras in Europe. The now 68-member orchestra is part of the Meininger Theater and in addition to their performances at opera performances regularly give symphony concerts and youth concerts...

" is one of the oldest and most tradition rich orchestras in Europe. The now 68-member orchestra is part of the Meininger Theater and performs, in addition to opera accompaniment, regular symphony concerts and youth concerts. Philippe Bach has been the Music Director since 2010.

The court orchestra was founded in 1690 by Duke Bernhard I.
Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen was a duke of Saxe-Meiningen.He was the sixth but third surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg....

 In October 1880 began the most successful period of the orchestra which developed into an elite European orchestra under the direction of Hans von Bülow
Hans von Bülow
Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. He was one of the most famous conductors of the 19th century, and his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, including Richard...

. During the Hans von Bülow
Hans von Bülow
Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. He was one of the most famous conductors of the 19th century, and his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, including Richard...

 period, Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...

 came to Meiningen to collaborate with the court orchestra and to conduct occasionally. Other notable directors included Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...

 from 1885 to 1886 and Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...

 from 1911 to 1914.

Art House

The “Kunsthaus Meiningen” is a cultural institution in the historic half-timbered house "Old Post Office". It presents exhibitions of contemporary fine art and offers workshops and job opportunities for local and foreign artists.

Museums

Meiningen museums comprise six cultural and historical museums which house the largest art collection in Thuringia. The main museum is in the Schloss Elisabethenburg
Schloss Elisabethenburg
Schloss Elisabethenburg is a Baroque castle located on the northwestern edge of Meiningen in Germany. Until 1918 it was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen...

 (Elizabeth Palace), the former residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen.

The newest museum, opened in 1999, is the Theater Museum "Magic World of Scenery" in the former riding school near the palace. It offers an annually changing exhibit of historically important theater stage backdrops and historical information on the European tours of the Meiningen Court Theater.

Election results

Partei Kreistag
2004
Kreistag
2009
Landtag
2004
Landtag
2009
Bundestag
2002
Bundestag
2005
Bundestag
2009
Europa
2004
Europa
2009
PDS/Die Linke 30,4 % 26,6 % 31,9 % 32,2 % 21,8 % 29,9 % 33,8 % 30,7 % 29,7 %
CDU 27,2 % 26,2 % 34,6 % 26,0 % 24,8 % 20,8 % 26,2 % 30,1 % 24,2 %
SPD 11,0 % 18,0 % 16,8 % 19,3 % 40,1 % 32,1 % 18,0 % 16,9 % 15,6 %
Grüne 9,7 % 13,2 % 6,1 % 7,8 % 4,8 % 5,3 % 7,2 % 7,1 % 7,6 %
FDP 2,5 % 5,0 % 3,3 % 6,2 % 4,9 % 7,0 % 8,4 % 3,9 % 6,3 %
Freie Wähler 19,0 % 11,1 % 1,8 % 3,2 % - - - - 1,5 %
NPD - - 1,2 % 3,9 % 0,9 % 3,1 % 2,9 % 1,0 % -
Piraten - - - - - - 2,7 % - -
Wahlbeteiligung 41,2 % 45,9 % 41,0 % 43,1 % 60,2 % 60,9 % 49,5 % 40,9 % 39,6 %

Twin towns

Meiningen is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Neu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm is a town in Bavaria, capital of the Neu-Ulm district. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 51,110 .-History:...

 , Germany, since 1988 Bussy-Saint-Georges
Bussy-Saint-Georges
Bussy-Saint-Georges is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Geography:In the East, at the distance 30 kilometres from Paris and in the heart of Marne-la-Vallée, Bussy-Saint-Georges has a privileged position thanks to a high-density...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, since 2006 Obertshausen
Obertshausen
Obertshausen is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:-Location:Obertshausen is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district...

 , Germany, since 2007
Friendly relations exist with the millions of city Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

 in Australia because of its namesake Queen Adelaide (Queen of United Kingdom), in Meiningen, born and raised Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...

, and with the community Meiningen (Vorarlberg) in Austria due to the similarity of names.

Famous residents

  • Jean Paul
    Jean Paul
    Jean Paul , born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.-Life and work:...

    , poet
  • Ludwig Bechstein
    Ludwig Bechstein
    Ludwig Bechstein was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales.He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappeared even before the birth of the child, and Ludwig thus grew up his first nine years in...

    , poet
  • Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
    Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
    Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914.-Family and early life:...

  • Ellen Franz
    Ellen Franz
    Ellen Franz was a German pianist and actress.-Early life:She was born in Berlin. According to Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt, Ellen Franz made her first appearance in the Hoftheater of Meiningen in 1867.-Marriage:...

     (Helene Freifrau von Heldburg), pianist and actress
  • Hans von Bülow
    Hans von Bülow
    Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. He was one of the most famous conductors of the 19th century, and his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, including Richard...

    , conductor
  • Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss
    Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...

    , conductor
  • Josef Kainz
    Josef Kainz
    Josef Gottfried Ignaz Kainz was an Austrian actor of Hungarian birth. He was highly active in theatres in Austria and Germany from 1873–1910...

    , actor
  • Albert Bassermann
    Albert Bassermann
    Albert Bassermann was a German stage and screen actor.-Career:Bassermann began his acting career in 1887 in his birthplace, Mannheim. He then spent four years at the Hoftheater in Meiningen. He then moved to Berlin. From 1899, he worked for Otto Brahm. He began work at the Deutsches Theater...

    , actor
  • Fritz Diez
    Fritz Diez
    Not to be confused with the West German industrialist Fritz Dietz.Fritz Diez was a German actor, producer, director and theater manager.-Early life:...

    , actor and producer
  • Karl Korsch
    Karl Korsch
    -Biography:Korsch was born in Tostedt, near Hamburg, to Carl August Korsch, a secretary at the cantonal court and his wife Therese. In 1898 the family moved to Meiningen, Thuringia and Korsch senior attained the position of a managing clerk in a bank...

  • Max Reger
    Max Reger
    Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...

    , composer, pianist and conductor
  • Elisabeth Grümmer
    Elisabeth Grümmer
    Elisabeth Schilz Grümmer was a German operatic lyric soprano.She was born at Niederjeutz, near Diedenhofen, Alsace-Lorraine to German parents...

    , operatic lyric soprano
  • Peretz Bernstein
    Peretz Bernstein
    Peretz Bernstein was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...

    , Israeli politician
  • Paul Oestreicher
    Paul Oestreicher
    Paul Oestreicher is an Anglican priest.-Life and work:In 1938, shortly after he began school, his family had to leave Germany due to the Jewish ancestry of his father, the paediatrician Paul Oestreicher . They moved to New Zealand, where he grew up...

    , Anglican priest and canon emeritus in Coventry
    Coventry
    Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...


Notable people

  • Friedrich Schiller
    Friedrich Schiller
    Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...

    , poet
  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...

    , poet
  • Friedrich Mosengeil, Stenographer
  • Johannes Brahms
    Johannes Brahms
    Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...

    , composer
  • Adele Sandrock
    Adele Sandrock
    Adele Sandrock was a German actress. After a successful theatrical career, she became one of the first German film stars....

    , actress
  • Bjørn Bjørnson
    Bjørn Bjørnson
    Bjørn Bjørnson was a Norwegian stage actor and theatre director.-Biography:He was born in Kristiania, the son of author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and his wife Karoline Bjørnson. In 1876, he was admitted as a student at the Stern Conservatory operated by Julius Stern in Berlin, Germany...

    , actor
  • Peter Borgelt
    Peter Borgelt
    Peter Borgelt was a German television actor.Borgelt was best known for playing the character of Hauptmann Fuchs in the long running series Polizeiruf 110 between 1971 and 1991...

    , actor
  • Eberhard Esche
    Eberhard Esche
    Eberhard Esche was an actor from the former East Germany.Born on 25 October 1933 in Leipzig, Germany, Eberhard Esche was a German film and television actor who appeared in the following:*Das Haus der Schwestern *Mama ist unmöglich...

    , actor
  • Elīna Garanča
    Elina Garanca
    -Biography:Garanča was born in the Latvian city of Riga into a musical family, her father a choral director, mother a lieder singer and singing teacher. Her mother Anita is a professor at the Latvian Academy of Music, an associated professor at the Latvian Academy of Culture, a vocal music teacher...

    , singer
  • Ingrid van Bergen
    Ingrid van Bergen
    Ingrid van Bergen is a German film actress. She has appeared in 100 films since 1954. She was born in Free City of Danzig, today Gdansk, Poland....

    , actress
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