Thuringia

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Thuringia shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Thuringia offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Thuringia at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Thuringia? Wrong! If the Thuringia is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Thuringia then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Thuringia? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Thuringia and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Thuringia wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Thuringia then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Thuringia site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Thuringia, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Thuringia, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox German Bundesland|Name = Free State of Thuringia|German_name = Freistaat Thüringen|state_coa = Coat of arms of Thuringia.svg|map = Deutschland Lage von Thüringen.svg|flag = Flag of Thuringia.svg|flag2 = Flag of Thuringia (state).svg|capital = Erfurt. It has an area of and 2.33 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen [States of Germany (federal states). The capital is Erfurt.

Geography Thuringia borders on (from the northwest and clockwise) the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Free State of Saxony, Bavaria and Hesse. The ridges of the western Harz mountains divide the region from Lower Saxony on the north-west and eastern Harz similarly separates Thuringia from the state of Saxony-Anhalt to the north-east. To the south and southwest, the Thuringian Forest effectively separates the ancient region of Franconia, now the northern part of Bavaria from the rolling plains of most of Thuringia and the central Harz range extends southwards along the western side into northwest corner of the Thüringer Wald region making Thuringia a low land basin of rolling plains nearly surrounded by ancient somewhat-difficult mountains. To the west across the mountains and south is the drainage basin of the Rhine River.

The most conspicuous geographical feature of Thuringia is the Thuringian Forest (Thüringer Wald, or also Thuringerwald), a mountain chain in the southwest.The Werra river ("Werratal"), a tributary of the Weser River separates this mountain chain from the volcanic Rhön Mountains, which are partially in Thuringia, Bavaria and Hesse.In the northwest Thuringia includes a small part of the Harz mountains. The eastern part of Thuringia is generally a plain.The Saale river runs through these lowlands from south to north.

See also List of places in Thuringia.

Thuringia is divided into 17 districts (Landkreise):

image:thuringia map.png

{||- valign=top| width=33%|

Altenburger Land

Eichsfeld (district)

Gotha (district)

Greiz (district)

Hildburghausen (district)

Ilm-Kreis

| width=33%|

Kyffhäuserkreis

Nordhausen (district)

Saale-Holzland

Saale-Orla

Saalfeld-Rudolstadt

Schmalkalden-Meiningen

[Sonneberg (district)

Unstrut-Hainich

Wartburgkreis

Weimarer Land|}

Furthermore there are six urban districts:

Erfurt

Eisenach, Germany

Gera

Jena

Suhl

Weimar

Towns {| class="wikitable"|-----|colspan="6" align="center" bgcolor="#FFA500" | Towns in Thuringia|-----|rowspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#98FB98" | position || rowspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#98FB98" | town || colspan="3" align="center" bgcolor="#98FB98" | inhabitants || rowspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#98FB98" | district|-----|align="center" bgcolor="#98FB98" | 31 December 1970 ] 2000 ] 2005] || align=right | 192.679 || align=right | 200.564 || align=right | 202.590 || independent city|-----|align=right | 2. || Gera ] || align=right | 85.169 || align=right | 99.893 || align=right | 102.201 || independent city|-----|align=right | 4. || Weimar ] || align=right | 57.256 || align=right | 48.376 || align=right | 47.045 || Landkreis Gotha|-----|align=right | 6. || Eisenach ] || align=right | 42.018 || align=right | 45.633 || align=right | 43.781 || Landkreis Nordhausen|-----|align=right | 8. || Suhl ] || align=right | 47.497 || align=right | 41.290 || align=right | 38.203 || Landkreis Altenburger Land|-----|align=right | 10. || Mühlhausen ]|-----|align=right | 11. || Saalfeld ]|-----|align=right | 12. || Ilmenau ]|-----|align=right | 13. || Arnstadt ]|-----|align=right | 14. || Rudolstadt ]|-----|align=right | 15. || Apolda ]|-----|align=right | 16. || Greiz ]|-----|align=right | 17. || Sonneberg ]|-----|align=right | 18. || Sondershausen ]|-----|align=right | 19. || Meiningen ]|-----|align=right | 20. || Sömmerda ]|-----|align=right | 21. || Leinefelde-Worbis
(formed on 16 March 2004) ]|-----|align=right | 22. || Bad Langensalza ]|-----|align=right | 23. || Schmalkalden ]|-----|align=right | 24. || Zeulenroda-Triebes
(formed on 1 March 2006) ]|-----|align=right | 25. || Heilbad Heiligenstadt || align=right | 12.464 || align=right | 17.291 || align=right | 17.175 || Landkreis Eichsfeld|-----|align=right | 26. || Bad Salzungen ]|-----|align=right | 27. || Pößneck ]|-----|align=right | 28. || Schmölln ]|-----|align=right | 29. || Zella-Mehlis
(formed on 1 April 1919) ]|-----|align=right | 30. || Hildburghausen ]|-----|align=right | 31. || Eisenberg, Thuringia || align=right | 13.859 || align=right | 11.764 || align=right | 11.489 || Saale-Holzland-Kreis || align=right | 14.219 || align=right | 11.725 || align=right | 11.307 || [Landkreis Gotha|-----|}

History {{Infobox Former Country|native_name = Herzogtum (Landgrafschaft) Thüringen|conventional_long_name = Duchy (Landgraviate) of Thuringia|common_name = Thuringia||continent = Europe|region = Central Europe|country = Germany|era = Middle Ages|status = Vassal|status_text = Germanic peoples kingdom, Franks duchy,
then States of the Holy Roman Empire of the Holy Roman Empire kingdom
established|date_start =
before [450 invasion;
duchy established|date_event1 =
[632 established|date_event2 = [1130–[1264||p1 = |flag_p1 = |image_p1 = |s1 = Landgraviate of Hesse|image_s1 = |s2 = Margraviate of Meissen|image_s2 = ||capital =||footnotes = -->Named after the Thuringian people who occupied it around 300, Thuringia came under Franks domination in the 6th century, forming a part (from 1130 a landgravate) of the subsequent Holy Roman Empire.

After the extinction of the reigning Ludowingian line of counts in 1247 and the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264), the western half became independent under the name of Hesse, never to become a part of Thuringia again. Most of the remaining Thuringia came under the rule of the Wettin (dynasty) dynasty of the nearby Margravate of Meißen, the nucleus of the later duchy and kingdom of Saxony. With the division of the house of Wettin in 1485, Thuringia went to the senior Ernestine branch of the family, which subsequently subdivided the area into a number of smaller states, according to the Saxon tradition of dividing inheritance amongst male heirs. These were the Ernestine duchies, consisting, among others, of the states of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Jena, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, and Saxe-Gotha; Thuringia became merely a geographical concept.

in fact depicts the mountain scenery of ThuringiaThuringia generally accepted the Protestant Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church was abolished as early as 1520; priests that remained loyal were driven away and churches and monasteries were largely destroyed, especially during the Peasants' War of 1525. In Mulhausen and elsewhere, the Anabaptists found many adherents. Thomas Munzer, the founder of this sect, was active in this city. Within the borders of Thuringia the Catholic faith was maintained only in the district called Eichsfeld, which was ruled by the Archbishop of Mainz, and to a small degree in the city and vicinity of Erfurt.

Within the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine organized in 1806, some reordering of territories began, confirmed at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) with the creation of the German Confederation. The so-called Thuringian states within the German Empire were Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the two principalities of Reuß.

In 1920, during the Weimar Republic that followed World War I, these small states merged into one state, called Thuringia; only Saxe-Coburg voted to join Bavaria instead. Weimar became the new capital of Thuringia.

According to the book Hitlers Bombe, a nuclear device was detonated here in March of 1945.

After July 1945, the state of Thuringia came under Soviet Union occupation, and was expanded to include parts of the Prussian Province of Saxony, such as the areas around Erfurt, Mühlhausen, and Nordhausen. Erfurt became the new capital of Thuringia.

In 1952, the German Democratic Republic dissolved its states, and created districts (Bezirke) instead. The three districts that shared the territory of Thuringia were based in Erfurt, Gera and Suhl.

The State of Thuringia was restored with slightly altered borders during German reunification in 1990.

Politics List of Minister-presidents of Thuringia

1920 - 1921: Arnold Paulssen (German Democratic Party)

1921 - 1923: August Frölich (Social Democratic Party of Germany)

1924 - 1928: Richard Leutheußer (German People's Party)

1928 - 1929: Karl Riedel (DVP)

1929 : Arnold Paulssen (DDP)

1930 - 1932: Erwin Baum (Landbund)

1932 - 1933: Fritz Sauckel (National Socialist German Workers' Party)

1933 - 1945: Willy Marschler (NSDAP)

1945: Hermann Brill (SPD)

1945 - 1947: Rudolf Paul (no party, then Liberal Democratic Party of Germany)

1947 - 1952: Werner Eggerath (Socialist Unity Party of Germany)

1990 - 1992: Josef Duchac (Christian Democratic Union of Germany)

1992 - 2003: Bernhard Vogel (CDU)

since 2003: Dieter Althaus (CDU)

June 13, 2004 state election {| class="wikitable"|- bgcolor=lightgrey! | Party! | Party List votes! | Vote percentage! | Total Seats! | Seat percentage|-| Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)| align="right" | 434,088| align="right" | 43.0%| align="right" | 45| align="right" | 51.1%|-| Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)] (SPD)| align="right" | 146,297| align="right" | 14.5%| align="right" | 15| align="right" | 17.0%|-| Alliance '90/The Greens (FDP)| align="right" | 36,483| align="right" | 3.6%| align="right" | 0| align="right" | 0.0%|-| [Free Voters in Thuringia| align="right" | 19,797| align="right" | 2.0%| align="right" | 0| align="right" | 0.0%|-| [National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD)| align="right" | 15,695| align="right" | 1.6%| align="right" | 0| align="right" | 0.0%|-| All Others| align="right" | 22,549| align="right" | 2.2%| align="right" | 0| align="right" | 0.0%|-|- bgcolor=lightgrey! | Totals! align="right" | 1,010,578! align="right" | 100.0%! align="right" | 88! align="right" | 100.0%|}

Transportation

Autobahn: A4, A9, A38, A44, A71, A73
Airports: Altenburg-Nobitz Airport, Erfurt Airport