Sondershausen (German pronunciation: [ˈzɔndɐsˌhaʊzn̩] ) is a town in Thuringia, central Germany, capital of the Kyffhäuserkreis district, situated about 50 km (30 mi) north of Erfurt. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Schernberg was merged with Sondershausen.
Until 1918 it was part of the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
Contents
Geography
Sondershausen is situated in North Thuringia and lies in a low mountain range between Hainleite (in the north) and Windleite (in the south). The highest mountain is the Frauenberg to the west of the town. A little river called Wipper flows through Sondershausen. The town is surrounded by mixed forests, dominated by beech.
Subdivisions
The city districts are:
Culture and main sights
Museums
Sondershausen Palace houses a large museum with three different exhibit areas. Special exhibits are Golden Coach, the only one of its kind in Germany, and the legendary bronze figurine Püstrich von Sondershausen. There are special guided tours of the palace's storage depot, cellar, tower, and park.
Other places of interest include a former mine under the city, and a Jewish bath from the 14th century.
Buildings
Sondershausen Palace, with natural history and antiquarian collections. Built as a palace during the Renaissance, expanding from an earlier fort, it was later expanded further in a Baroque style (1764–1771). Especially noteworthy are the "Blue Hall" and the gardens.
The previous Princes' Palace (1721–1725), a residence of the princes from 1835 to 1851. It currently houses the district administration office of the Kyffhäuserkreis.
The "Octagonal House"
"Alte Wache"
Main building of the "Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium Sondershausen" (a grammar school)
A mikveh
"Haus der Kunst" ("House of the Arts") theatre
Rathaus (city hall)
Gottschalcksches Haus (House of Gottschalck)
The Baroque Trinitatiskirche, a Lutheran church with a mausoleum containing the graves of the last members of the princely family
Crucis Church, the oldest building in Sondershausen
St. Matthias Church, a historical structure considered one of the most beautiful churches in the region
St. Petri Church in Jechaburg
St. Georg Church in Bebra
St. Viti Church in Berka
St. Bonifatius Church in Großfurra
St. Johannis Church in Oberspier
Notable people
Rudolf Arzinger (1922–1970), expert of public international law
Felix Becker (1864–1928), art historian
Regina Miriam Bloch (1888–1938), writer and poet
Johann Günther Friedrich Cannabich (1777–1859), geographer
Edmund Döring (1860–1938), German homeland culture ("Heimat") historian
Ernst Christoph Dressler (1734–1779), composer, operatic tenor, violinist and music theorist
Ernst Ludwig Gerber (1746–1819), composer, music writer, musician
Jörg Hoffmann (born 1963), luger, Olympic champion in Calgary 1988
Thilo Irmisch (1816–1878), botanist
Günther Jahn (painter) (born 1933), painter
Michael Kohl (1929–1981), lawyer, East German deputy foreign minister
Olaf Koch (conductor) (born 1932), director of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin
Karl Krieghoff (1905–1984), local poet
Vera Lengsfeld (born 1952), politician
Georg Richard Lewin (1820–1896), dermatologist, university professor
Kurt Lindner (1906–1987), hunting historian
Sister cities
Sondershausen is twinned with three cities:
Rolla, Missouri, United States
Pecquencourt, France
Kazlų Rūda, Lithuania