Gera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gera | |
 |
|
 |
|
  Gera
|
|
| Administration | |
| Country | Germany |
|---|---|
| State | Thuringia |
| District | Urban district |
| Lord Mayor | Norbert Vornehm (SPD) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 151.93 km2 (58.66 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 205 m (673 ft) |
| Population | 101,618 (31 December 2007)[1] |
| - Density | 669 /km2 (1,732 /sq mi) |
| Founded | 995 |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | G |
| Postal codes | 07457-07557 |
| Area codes | 0365, 0336695 |
| Website | www.gera.de |
| Location of Gera within Germany | |
 Coordinates: 50°52′50″N 12°05′00″E / 50.88056°N 12.083333°E |
|
Gera is the third largest city in the German state of Thuringia after Erfurt, the Thuringian capital, and Jena. It is situated in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster (literally the "White Magpie"), approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometers to the east of Erfurt. In 2007 Gera had a population of approximately 102,000.
Contents |
[edit] History
The name Gera was first mentioned in 995. From 1848 to 1918 Gera was the capital of the Reuss Junior Line principality. With the industrial revolution in the middle of the 19th centuary, Gera enjoyed rapid growth through its textile industry. Its wealth was reflected in the many city villas which still bear witness to this time. One such mansion is the Schulenberg villa designed by the Belgian artist Henry van de Velde. The city's importance was highlighted by the fact that it became a railway center where many rail lines met.
 Schulenberg villa in Gera |
In 1920 the city became part of newly founded Thuringia. Some parts of the city were destroyed by aerial bombing in 1945. The city became a part of the newly created District of Gera (Bezirk Gera) as it was then part of German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Since the fall of the iron curtain in 1990 and German reunification, it returned as a city to Thuringia as one of three metropolitan centers (Oberzentren) along with Jena and Erfurt. Since 1998, the Vocational Academy of Gera has found its home here, as well as a private school for allied health sciences. The city hosted the biannual federal horticultural show (Bundesgartenschau) in 2007.
[edit] Geography
Gera lies at a distance between 180 meters (the level of the White Elster river) and 354 m (when measured at Gera-Falka at the furthest southeastern point). Usually the height above sea level for the city is given as 205 m when measured at the market place.
The largest city forest all the towns found in Thuringia, called the City Forest of Gera (Geraer Stadtwald), is located on the western edge of the city. Another forested tract is found just on the northwest city boundary. The Zeitzer Forest in Saxony-Anhalt is found just northeast of the city.
[edit] Main sights
Sights in Gera include:
- Town Hall (1576, Renaissance)
- Market Square with Simson-fountain
- Osterstein Castle, Gera (largely destroyed 1945)
- City Pharmacy
- Theater (1902)
- Villa Schulenburg, designed by Henry van de Velde
- St. Johannis church (Neo-Gothic)
- St. Salvator church (Baroque with Art Nouveau interior decoration)
- St. Marien church (Late Gothic)
- St. Trinitatis church (Late Gothic)
- Old beer cellars called "Geraer Höhler"
- Zoo Gera (since 1973)
Museums in Gera include:
- City Museum
- Otto Dix House
- Art Galley "Orangerie"
- Museum of Natural History ("Schreiber House", oldest building in the city), with its adjacent botanical garden, the Botanischer Garten Gera
- Museum for Applied Arts ("Ferber House")
In 2007 Gera, together with Ronneburg, is venue of the Bundesgartenschau (the federal horticultural show).
[edit] Transportation
In the eastern part of Gera lies the airfield Gera-Leumnitz. The nearest airport is Leipzig-Altenburg (approx. 40 km). The Leipzig-Halle airport, with its with many international destinations, is about 90 km north of Gera.
[edit] Twin towns
|
|
|
[edit] Notable natives
- Johann Heinrich Gottfried Koch, (1705-1775)
- Heinrich Gustav Beck, (1857-1933), Ministerpräsident of Saxony 1914-1918
- Otto Dix (1891-1969), artist
- Rudolf Paul, (1893-1978), President of Thuringia 1945-1947
- Karl Weschke, (1925-2005), painter
- Georg Buschner, (born 1925), head coach East Germany national football team
- Helga Königsdorf, (born 1938), mathematician and author
- Marlies Göhr, (born 1958), athlete
- Olaf Ludwig, (born 1960), racing cyclist
- Wolfgang Tiefensee, (born 1955), politician
- Heike Drechsler, (born 1964), Olympic gold medalist long jumper
- Jens Heppner, (born 1964), racing cyclist
[edit] References
- ^ Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik. "Population of Thuringia by district". http://www.tls.thueringen.de/seite.asp?aktiv=dat01&startbei=datenbank/default2.asp. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
