Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the Thüringer Städtekette, an almost straight string of cities consisting of the six largest Thuringian cities from Eisenach in the west, via Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar and Jena to Gera in the east. Gera is the largest city in the Vogtland, and one of its historical capitals along with Plauen, Greiz and Weida. The city lies in the East Thuringian Hill Country, in the wide valley of the White Elster, between Greiz (upstream) and Leipzig (downstream). Gera is located in the Central German Metropolitan Region, approximately south of Saxony's largest city of Leipzig, east of Thuringia's capital Erfurt, west of Saxony's capital Dresden and 90 km (56 miles) north of Bavaria's city of Hof (Saale).
First mentioned in 995 and developing into a city during the 13th century, Gera has historical significance as being one of the main residences of the Ducal House of Reuss and subsequently the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Gera (1848–1918) and of the People's State of Reuss (1918–1920), one of the many microstates the Thuringian region consisted of, before they were unified to form Thuringia in 1920.
Over the 19th century, Gera became a centre of the textile industry and saw a period of rapid growth. In 1952, the city also became an administrative centre in GDR as one of the capitals of Gera administrative district (Bezirk). In 1990, Gera became part of re-established Thuringia. The loss of its administrative functions as well as its industrial core (caused both by structural change among the European textile industry and the economic system change after the German reunification) precipitated the city's slide into an enduring economic crisis.
Since 1990, many of Gera's buildings have been restored and big urban planning programmes like the Bundesgartenschau 2007 were implemented to stimulate Gera's economy. Sights include some retained buildings of the royal residence epoch and many public and private buildings from the economic heyday between 1870 and 1930. The famous painter Otto Dix was born in Gera in 1891.
History
Middle Ages The place name Gera originally referred to the area of the Elster river valley where the city stands now. The first known documentary mention of Gera dates from 995.
In 999 Emperor Otto III assigned the "province" of Gera to the Quedlinburg Abbey. In turn, the church assigned the protectorship of this area in 1209 to the Vogts of Weida (in German: Vögte von Weida) who served as its administrators. The Vogts of Weida were the ancestors of the Reussians, who ruled Gera until 1918. Gera was first mentioned as a town in 1237, though it is unclear in which year Gera got the municipal law. The small town got circumvallated in the 13th century on an area of 350 x 350 m and the Vogts' city castle was built in the south-western corner at today's Burgstraße. A municipal seal was first used in 1350, the council was first named in 1360 and the town hall was mentioned in 1426. The abbess of Quedlinburg remained the formal sovereign of Gera until 1358, as the Wettins followed her up. The Vogt's couldn't emancipate themselves from Wettin rule. In 1450, Gera was almost totally destroyed during the Saxon Fratricidal War, but it could recuperate quick because the starting textile manufacture brought wealth to the town.
Early modern period
The Reformation was introduced in Gera in 1533 against the will of the Vogts by the Wettins. After the Schmalkaldic War in 1546, the Wettins lost Gera to the Bohemian Crown, who however had no influence on the city, so that the Vogts or the Reussians (which arose from the Vogts in the mid-16th century) as indeed rulers were strengthened. During the 16th century, some cloth-makers from the Spanish Netherlands migrated to Gera as religious refugees at Count Henry's invitation and raised the textile business in Gera. In the 18th century, there was a first peak in this industry (Putting-out system), which can be seen today at the large agents houses.
In 1673, the Reussians were raised to Imperial Counts which granted them full sovereignty within the Holy Roman Empire; Gera became their royal residence. In 1686 and 1780, big town fires destroyed most buildings in Gera. The town was rebuilt relatively uniform during the 1780s in late-Baroque style, which marks the inner city until today.
In 1806 Napoleon established his Imperial Headquarters at Gera during the War of the Fourth Coalition. From here, on October 12, 1806, the French Emperor purposely sent an arrogant and threatening letter to King Frederick William III of Prussia – a letter that enticed Prussia to war and a crushing defeat at the Battle of Jena a few days later.Christopher Clark, "The Iron Kingdom" (London, 2006), p. 305.
Since 1815
The Gera line of Reussians died out in 1802, so that it had no royal resident until the new one moved there from Schleiz in 1848. From 1848 to 1918 Gera served as the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Gera. With the industrial revolution in the mid-19th century, Gera grew rapidly, due largely to its textile industry, which saw the first Power loom installed in 1836. In 1859, Gera was first connected by railway to Halle via Zeitz and Weißenfels. During the following decades, rail lines in all directions made Gera to a transport hub, and the town kept growing. The second electric tram in Germany was installed in Gera in 1892.
After World War I, during the German Revolution of 1918–19, the prince of Reuss was forced to abdicate, and the resultant "Republic of Reuss", formed by the union of Reuss-Gera and Reuss-Greiz, became part of the newly founded state of Thuringia in 1920. After the incorporation of some suburbs in the 1910s and 1920s Gera, with some 80,000 inhabitants, was the largest city in Thuringia, although the more centrally located Weimar became its capital.
After the Nazi takeover of Germany, the Jewish community of Gera was destroyed, the synagogue burnt down in the Kristallnacht in 1938 and the city's Jews emigrated or were murdered in concentration camps. A month before the end of World War II, on 6 April 1945, U.S. bombing destroyed parts of the city and killed 514 residents. Some 300 buildings were hit, including the Osterstein castle and several historic buildings in city centre, many of which weren't rebuilt after the war, so in present-day nearly half of Geras buildings date back to before World War II. U.S. forces occupied Gera on 14 April 1945 but were replaced by the Soviets on 1 July 1945.Günter Sagan: Ostthüringen im Bombenkrieg 1939–1945. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2013, , pp. 178–179.
Gera became part of the GDR in 1949 and was a flash point in the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany as thousands of workers – among them many employees of the Soviet-established Wismut uranium mining entity in the nearby Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) – demanded higher wages and free elections. The demonstrations were put down by Soviet military forces, including armored units.Der Schrei nach Freiheit. 17. Juni 1953 in Thüringen. Exhibit of the Stiftung Ettersberg in the Thüringian Landtag, June 2012.
With governmental reorganization in East Germany, the city became the capital of the newly created District of Gera in 1952. The population rose during the GDR period, and massive Plattenbau prefabricated apartment blocks, built throughout East Germany, were constructed in Gera.
After German reunification in 1990, Gera became part of the restored state of Thuringia. However, Gera lost most of its administrative functions after reunification, and nearly all the city's factories were closed. This led to a continuing economic crisis with significant unemployment, and the city's population declined from 135,000 in 1990 to less than 100,000 a decade later.
The city hosted the Bundesgartenschau (federal horticultural exhibition) in 2007.
Geography and demographics
Topography Gera is located in a smooth-hilly landscape in eastern Thuringia at the White Elster river (progression: ), between the Thuringian Highland approx. in the south-west, the Ore Mountains approx. in the south-east and the Leipzig Bay approx. in the north. The municipal territory is marked by the Elster valley, crossing it in south-northern direction. West of the valley, the landscape is more hilly and forested (with the Gera Municipal Forest), whereas the eastern parts are more flat and in agricultural use. The elevation is between 180 metres (the level of the White Elster river) and (when measured at Gera-Falka at the furthest southeastern point). Usually the height above sea level for the city appears as when measured at the market place.
Small tributaries of the White Elster river within the borders of Gera are the Erlbach on the western side and the Wipsenbach, Gessenbach and Brahme on the eastern side.
Climate Gera has a humid continental climate (Dfb) or an oceanic climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system. (direct: Final Revised Paper) Summers are warm and sometimes humid, winters are relatively cold. The city's topography creates a microclimate caused through the basin position with sometimes inversion in winter (quite cold nights under ) and heat and inadequate air circulation in summer. Annual precipitation is only with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Light snowfall mainly occurs from December through February, but snow cover does not usually remain for long.
Administrative division
Gera abuts the following municipalities: in the Burgenlandkreis district in the north: Wetterzeube and Gutenborn in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt in the Greiz district in the east: Pölzig, Hirschfeld, Brahmenau, Schwaara, Korbußen, Ronneburg, Kauern, Hilbersdorf and Linda; in the south: Endschütz, Wünschendorf, Zedlitz and Hundhaupten; in the west: Saara, Kraftsdorf, Hartmannsdorf and Bad Köstritz in the Saale-Holzland district: Silbitz in the north-west.
The 12 statistical districts are:
1 – Stadtmitte 2 – Debschwitz 3 – Gera-Ost 4 – Gera-Nord/Langenberg 5 – Bieblach-Ost 6 – Bieblach/Tinz 7 – Untermhaus 8 – Gera-Westvororte 9 – Zwötzen/Liebschwitz 10 – Lusan-Laune 11 – Lusan-Zentrum 12 – Lusan-Brüte
The main urban quarters are the city centre, Untermhaus (incorporated 1919) in the west, Langenberg (1950), Tinz (1919) and Bieblach (1905) in the north, Leumnitz (1919) in the east, Pforten (1919) and Zwötzen (1919) in the south-east as well as Debschwitz (1912) and Lusan (1919) in the south-west.
Demographics
For centuries, Gera was a small town of about 2,000 inhabitants. As the textile business saw a first peak, the population rose to 7,000 in 1800 and further to 17,000 after the early stage of industrialisation in 1870. Gera's heyday between 1870 and 1930 led to a demographic boom with a population of 83,000 at the end of this phase in 1930. In 1950, Gera had 98,000 inhabitants and the all-time peak was reached in 1988 with a population of 135,000. After the German reunification in 1990, the city saw a significant decline in population, despite the large incorporations of 1994. The population shrunk to 113,000 in 2000 and 95,000 in 2012.