The Southwest Thuringia borders on the federal states Bavaria in the south and Hesse in the west and extends south of the nature park Thuringian Forest. The Thuringian part of the south-west belongs to the Rhön (Biosphere Reserve), that Werra Valley and the Thuringian part of the Grave field. In terms of culture and history, southwest Thuringia belongs to the region Francs.
Regions
- 1 Grave field
: The municipality, which was created in 2007 in the local reorganization of Thuringia from ten previously politically independent localities, includes together with Römhild the part of the predominantly located in Thuringia Lower Franconia belonging Grabfelds, a flat hill country that is mainly used for agriculture. The two Gleichberg mountains near Römhild are outstanding.
- Rhön: The Thuringian part of the low mountain range consists of the Hohe Rhön with mountains up to 816 meters high and the somewhat flatter Vorderrhön.
- Werra Valley: The Werra runs through the Werra valley from south to north at an altitude of between 250 and 350 meters. This is where the largest towns are located and this is where cultural and city tourism is concentrated.
- Henneberger Land is the cultural and historical name for the region between Rhön, Grave field and Franconian Forest as the former administrative area of the Franconian in Thuringia today County of Henneberg, the region covers large parts of southern Thuringia. In an expanded definition, in Lower Franconia located parts of the county of Henneberg are also included.
- Heldburger Land is the cultural-historical name for the former Saxon district of Heldburg with the small towns Bad Colberg-Heldburg and Ummerstadt and the entire southern part of the Hildburghausen district
places
Important tourist destinations:
- 2 bad Salzungen - Spa town on the Werra and on the northern edge of the Rhön.
- 3 Ice field - Museum of the South Thuringian porcelain industry from the 18th century to the present day.
- 4 Henneberg - with the Henneberg castle ruins , one of the largest castle ruins in Thuringia.
- 5 Hildburghausen - baroque old town and renaissance town hall.
- 6 Kaltennordheim - City in the Rhön.
- 7 Meiningen - idyllic, representative and culturally significant, Meiningen is located in the Werra Valley on the eastern edge of the Rhön.
- 8 Römhild - small country town in the grave field.
- 9 Vacha - Small town on the Hessian border.
- 10 Themar - Small town with beautiful half-timbered houses.
- 11 Wasungen - small half-timbered town on the Werra, famous carnival stronghold.
- 12 Bad Colberg-Heldburg - Small town and health resort in the Heldburger Land
- 13 Ummerstadt - small half-timbered town in the Heldburger Land
Other goals
- 1 Elbow - At 816 meters, the highest mountain in southwest Thuringia.
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- 2 High Geba and 3 Dolmar - Former volcanoes and popular excursion destinations.
- Veßra Monastery with a Romanesque monastery and an open-air museum of agricultural history.
- Veste Heldburg: Medieval castle and former summer residence of Sachsen-Meiningen, too Franconian lamp called. German Castle Museum.
background
In terms of culture and history, southwest Thuringia belongs to the region Francs. The area was settled by Franks in the early Middle Ages and mainly by the Franconian county of Henneberg and parts of the bishopric Wurzburg taken. After the Hennebergs died out, the area came to the House of Saxony in the 16th century. At the end of the 17th century, the duchies of Saxony-Meiningen and Saxony-Hildburghausen were formed in what is now south-west Thuringia through inheritance divisions. A small part of the Rhön was ruled by the Duchy of Saxony Weimar-Eisenach. After the dissolution of the duchies, the area joined the newly formed Thuringia in 1920. Today Southwest Thuringia forms the Rhön travel region in Thuringia.
language
The dialect is Henneberg-Franconian, a subspecies of Main-Franconian. In the Bad Salzungen / Vacha area, this dialect changes slightly into Hessian.
getting there
In the street
You can get to south-west Thuringia via the federal motorways 
, Departures Meiningen-Nord, Meiningen-Süd, Rentwertshausen and 
, Exit Friedewald and via the federal roads 
, 
and 
.
By train
Of Eisenach, Erfurt, Schweinfurt and Sonneberg four railway lines lead to the Meiningen railway junction. There are other train stations along the Werra Railway between Bad Salzungen and Eisfeld. The South Thuringia Railway.
mobility
Tourist Attractions
- Graduation tower in bad Salzungen
- Great Gleichberg with remains of a Celtic settlement Römhild
- town hall in Hildburghausen
Castles and Palaces
- Elisabentheburg Castle in Meiningen
- Landsberg Castle in Meiningen
- Veste Heldburg in Bad Colberg-Heldburg
Caves and visitor mines
- Goetz Cave in Meiningen, largest accessible cleft and crevice cave in Europe that is accessible to tourists
activities
- Cycling along the Werra (Werratal cycle path) or Felda (Feldatal cycle path).
- Sightseeing in Meiningen.
- hike on an extensive network of trails in the Rhön and Werra Valley.
- Water hiking by canoe or boat on the Werra.
- Winter sports in the Hohe Rhön.
kitchen
nightlife
Theaters, cinemas, bars and discos can be found almost exclusively in Bad Salzungen, Hildburghausen and Meiningen. In Meiningen there is also a distinct bar scene.
security
- Police inspections in Meiningen, Bad Salzungen and Hildburghausen.
climate
The climate in Grabfeld and in the Werra Valley is relatively mild. Here, the amount of precipitation at around 650 mm is slightly below the German average of 770 mm. The annual mean temperature is around 9 ° C. In the Rhön, on the other hand, there is a rough low mountain range climate. It's cooler and windier here. In the winter months, winter sports are therefore possible on the higher mountains. The annual sunshine duration in southwest Thuringia averages 1,550 hours, which is 50 hours more than the German average.
trips
- Kreuzberg in the Bavarian Rhön
- Natural park Thuringian Forest
- Wasserkuppe in the Hessian Rhön
- Wartburg in Eisenach
- Winter sports resort Oberhof
literature
- Manfred Lückert: The Werra, Landscape and life on the river between Thuringian Forest and Hann. Münden, Rockstuhl Publishing House, Bad Langensalza, 2006, ISBN 3-938997-26-5
- Walter Höhn: Thuringian Rhön. Michael Imhof Verlag Petersberg 2005, ISBN 3-86568-060-7
- Norbert Klaus Fuchs: The Heldburger Land - a historical travel guide. Rockstuhl Publishing House, Bad Langensalza 2013, ISBN 978-3-86777-349-2
- Large hiking and cycling map of the Thuringian Rhön. Publishing house Dr. Barthel, ISBN 978-3-89591-134-7 . Scale 1: 35,000, € 5.90
