DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Thüringen	Thuringia
Landkreis: Saale-Holzland-Kreis

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Schkölen is situated at an elevation of 247 m in eastern Thuringia near the border to Saxony-Anhalt. On 1st January 1997 Schkölen and 6 neighbouring communities (Dothen, Graitschen a. d. Höhe, Nautschütz, Hainchen, Rockau and Wetzdorf) were united to the municipality Schkölen. The town has a population of about 3,000 (2002).

The origins of Schkölen go back to 1140 when a settling of the monastery of Pegau was founded at this place. The first written mention of Scolen is found in a document of 1158. Already in 1135 it belonged to the Staufer (Hohenstaufen). The domain became immediate to the Empire in 1158 but soon after that passed to the Wettin dynasty. After the division of the dynasty in 1485 it remained with the Albertine line. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 it came to Prussia (Province Saxony). In 1947 Schkölen became part of Thuringia. The railway line between Camburg and Zeitz was opened in 1897. The line was partly closed in 1965 so that Schkölen lost its railroad connection.

The oldest archaeological finds in the area of Schkölen date from the Stone and Bronze Ages. The largest cairn burial ground from the Bronze Age in Thuringia was found east of Schkölen. One of the very rare examples of lawn labyrinths in Germany is located in Graitschen. It probably also dates from the Bronze Age.

The picture on glass no. 1944 [left] shows the Ratskeller ('town hall inn').