Sondershausen

Sondershausen
Sondershausen
Town
	Coat of arms
	Location of Sondershausen within Kyffhäuserkreis district
	Sondershausen Sondershausen
	Coordinates: 51°22′N 10°52′E / 51.367°N 10.867°E
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
District	Kyffhäuserkreis
Subdivisions	12
Government
• Mayor (2024–30)	Steffen Grimm (Ind.)
Area
• Total	114.36 km2 (44.15 sq mi)
Elevation	208 m (682 ft)
Population (2022-12-31)
• Total	21,317
• Density	190/km2 (480/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	99701–99706
Dialling codes	03632
Vehicle registration	KYF, ART, SDH
Website	www.sondershausen.de

Sondershausen 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.

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:

City centre
Borntal
Hasenholz
Östertal

Bebra
Berka
Großfurra
Jecha
Jechaburg
Stockhausen

Großberndten
Himmelsberg
Hohenebra
Immenrode
Kleinberndten
Schernberg
Straußberg
Thalebra

Culture and main sights

Museums

Sondershausen Palace houses a large museum with three different exhibit areas. Special exhibits are the "Golden Coach" [de], the only one of its kind in Germany, and the legendary bronze figurine "Püstrich" [de]. 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)

Churches

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
Church of Großberndten
Church St. Mauritii in Himmelsberg
Church Gloria Deo in Hohenebra
Church of Immenrode
Church St. Johannes in Kleinberndten
St. Crucis Church in Schernberg
Church of Thalebra
St. Elisabeth Church (catholic)

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
Valentin Ernst Löscher (1674–1749), theologian, writer
Günther Lutze (1840–1930), botanist, German homeland culture ("Heimat") historian, chronicler
Joachim Manard (Manhard, Manardt) (1564–1637), chronicler of the town
Ludwig Günther Martini (1647–1719), jurist
Curt Mücke (1885–1940), painter
Carl Moeller (German pastor) (1867–1920), pastor and German homeland culture ("Heimat") historian
Hermann Müller (1891–1984), German homeland culture ("Heimat") historian
Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (born 1966), speed skater
Ronald Paris (1933–2021), painter
Werner Schubert (1921–1991), painter
Heinz Scharr (born 1924), visual artist
Ferdinand Schlufter (1871–1948), major
Volker Strübing (born 1971), book author, cabaret artist and songwriter
Johann Friedrich Suckow (1769–1842), musician
Johann Karl Wezel (1747–1819), poet