Gotha (district)


Gotha is a Kreis in western central Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Sömmerda, the Kreis-free city Erfurt, Ilm-Kreis, Schmalkalden-Meiningen and the Wartburgkreis.

Geography

Gotha borders the Thuringian Basin in the north and east, with a low point of about 200 meters in the northern part of the district. Fahner Heights, a muschelkalk ridge with a height of 413 meters, is located in the extreme north, between the municipalities of Tonna and Bienstädt.
The land rises to about 900 meters in the Thuringian Forest, which covers the south-western area of the district. The Rennsteig hiking trail follows a ridge line through the forest. The highest point in the district is Großer Inselsberg at 916.5 m, on the border with Schmalkalden-Meiningen. The southern area of the district also has 3 dams: the Ohra Dam near the village of Luisenthal, as well as the Tambach-Dietharz Dam and the Schmalwasser Dam, both in the catchment area of the Apfelstädt, near the town of Tambach-Dietharz.
On the southeastern boundary of the district, between Ohrdruf and Mühlberg, is the muschelkalk Ohrdrufer Plateau which sits at an average of about 450 meters. Since 1906, 49.5 km² of this plateau has been used as military proving ground.
Aside from the areas covered by the Thuringian forest and other small wooded ridges, the district is largely used for agriculture.

History

Administrative

In 1640, Gotha was partitioned from the Saxon Duchy of Saxe-Weimar to form the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha in the Holy Roman Empire. After acquiring additional territory from nearby dutchies, Saxe-Gotha was itself partitioned into seven dutchies in 1680, with the Gotha territory continuing in Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. The duchy's ruling family line went extinct in 1825 with the death of Frederick IV, and the territory was divided again, this time into Saxe-Hildburghausen and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. With the abolishment of the Monarchy of Germany following the November Revolution, the territory of Coburg was merged into Bavaria, and Gotha became part of Thuringia.
The Weimar district of Gotha was formed on October 1, 1922 from the largest parts of the cities and surrounding district offices of Gotha, Ohrdruf, and Waltershausen. The city of Gotha was made the district capital. This merged district extended south to Oberhof.
During the Nazi regime, municipal self-government ended abruptly in 1933. After the Second World War, both the US and later Soviet military government reinstated the administrative structures from the Weimar period, with some municipal additions and removals happening in 1946. In 1949, Gotha was integrated into East Germany, undergoing further territorial changes in 1950 and during the administrative reform of 1952.
In May 1990, the first free municipal elections since 1946 took place in Thuringia, with Thuringia being re-established as a free state later in October of that year. Local government was officially granted power by Thuringia in 1993, in the form of district councils and district administrators. The most recent territorial change for the district was in 1994, where it gained several towns from surrounding former East German districts.

Population

Directors, Chairmen, and Administrators of the District

Years in OfficeNameTitle
1922Max Friedrich JungherrActing District Director
1922–1924Edmund Christian Georg KochDistrict Director
1924-1926Louis LeutheusserDistrict Director
1926-1933Louis LeutheusserDistrict Administrator
1933–1945Ernst GuyetDistrict Administrator
1945Hans EchartiDistrict Administrator
1945–1949Arthur LuckDistrict Administrator
1949–1950Kurt HechtDistrict Administrator
1950–1951Elisabeth März-WesenickDistrict Administrator
1951–1952Hugo GräfDistrict Administrator
1952–1953Hugo GräfChairman of the Council of the District
1953–1958Fritz SingerChairman of the Council of the District
1958–1960Herwig RoosChairman of the Council of the District
1960–1966Karl HupeChairman of the Council of the District
1966Herbert KorbPresident-in-Office of the Council of the District
1966-1981Rudolf KornagelChairman of the Council of the District
1981-1990Wolfgang SchädelChairman of the Council of the District
1990Günther HertelChairman of the Council of the District
1990-2000Dieter ReinholzDistrict Administrator
2000-2005Siegfried LiebezeitDistrict Administrator
2005-2006Konrad GießmannActing District Administrator
2006-2018Konrad GießmannDistrict Administrator
2018-Onno EckertDistrict Administrator

Partnerships

Since 1990 the district has a partnership with the district Main-Kinzig in Hessen, Germany.

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities