DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Thüringen	Thuringia
Landkreis: Kyffhäuserkreis

map →

Bad Frankenhausen / Kyffhäuser is situated at an elevation of 132 m in the Kyffhäuser district of Thuringia.

Archaeologists have dated the earliest finds of human settlements in this area to a time about 10,000 years ago. The earliest written mentions of Frankenhausen are found in documents of the monastery of Fulda of the 9th century. Since the 11th century the place belonged to the counts of Weimar-Orlemünde, Rothenburg and Beichlingen. In 1340 it came in possession of the counts of Schwarzburg. In 1282 Frankenhausen was chartered as a town. Between 1599 and 1918 it was the administrative centre of the 'lower dominion' Frankenhausen within the County (1697 Principality) of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In 1525 Frankenhausen — more precicely the "Schlachtberg" ('battle mountain') — was the site of the decicive battle of the German Peasants' War. The first spa was opened in 1818 and used the saline spring which had been used for salt production since AD 998. In the late 19th century Frankenhausen was connected to the railroad system (1894 to Bretleben, 1898 to Sondershausen). In 1927 the perdicate "Bad" ('spa') was added to the town's name.

The picture on glass no. 1880 [left] shows Hoheneck manor, which was built in 1910–1912 by the architect Hermann Muthesius as a private residence for a wealthy merchant. From 1924 until 1932 it served as a recreation home for the German Foremen's Union (Deutscher Werkmeisterverband) [see the labeling "Erholungsheim Hoheneck" on the glass]. From 1933 until 1938 it was used by the Fascist Workers Front and then became a hospital and training home for training officers of the SS. In 1945 it was taken over by the American forces and from 1949 to 1957 it was used by the Free German Trade Union (Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund FDGB). Between 1958 and 1995 it was used as a sanatorium.