Thuringia
Free State of Thuringia
Freistaat Thüringen (German) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates: 50°51′40″N 11°3′7″E / 50.86111°N 11.05194°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| Capital (and largest city) | Erfurt |
| Government | |
| • Body | Landtag of Thuringia |
| • Minister-President | Mario Voigt (CDU) |
| • Governing parties | CDU / Thüringen.Gerecht / SPD |
| • Bundesrat votes | 4 (of 69) |
| • Bundestag seats | 18 (of 630) (as of 2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 16,202.37 km2 (6,255.77 sq mi) |
| Population (2023-12-31) | |
• Total | 2,122,335 |
| • Density | 130.9892/km2 (339.2604/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Thuringian |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €80.639 billion (2025) |
| • Per capita | €38,394 (2025) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | DE-TH |
| NUTS Region | DEG |
| HDI (2022) | 0.928 very high · 13th of 16 |
| Website | thueringen.de |
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settlement_type. Replace with type.blank2_info_sec2. Replace with custom_data2_sec2.blank2_name_sec2. Replace with custom_label2_sec2.imagesize. Replace with image_size.image_caption. Replace with caption.timezone1. Replace with time_zone1.image_skyline. Replace with image.timezone1_DST. Replace with time_zone1_DST.Thuringia (English: /θəˈrɪndʒiə/; German: Thüringen [ˈtyːʁɪŋən] ⓘ officially the Free State of Thuringia, Freistaat Thüringen [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈtyːʁɪŋən]) is a landlocked state in central Germany. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. It is the country's centermost state.
Erfurt is the capital and largest city. Other cities include Jena, Gera and Weimar. Thuringia is bordered by Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt. It has been known as "the green heart of Germany" (das grüne Herz Deutschlands) from the late 19th century due to its broad, dense forest. Most of Thuringia is in the Saale drainage basin, a left-bank tributary of the Elbe.
The Frankish Duchy of Thuringia was established around 631 AD by King Dagobert I. The modern state was established in 1920 by the Weimar Republic through a merger of the Ernestine duchies, save for Saxe-Coburg. After World War II, Thuringia came under the Soviet occupation zone in Allied-occupied Germany, and its borders were reformed, to become contiguous. Thuringia became part of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, but was dissolved in 1952 during administrative reforms, and divided into the Districts of Erfurt, Suhl and Gera. Thuringia was re-established in 1990 following German reunification, slightly re-drawn, and became one of the new states of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Thuringia is home to the Rennsteig, Germany's best-known hiking trail. Its winter resort of Oberhof makes it a well-equipped winter sports destination – half of Germany's 136 Winter Olympic gold medals had been won by Thuringian athletes as of 2014. Thuringia was favoured by or was the birthplace of three key intellectuals and leaders in the arts: Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller. The state is home to the University of Jena, the Ilmenau University of Technology, the University of Erfurt, Bauhaus University of Weimar and the Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences.