Ilm-Kreis

Ilm-Kreis is a district in Thuringia, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the city of Erfurt, the districts of Weimarer Land, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt and Hildburghausen, the city of Suhl, and the districts of Schmalkalden-Meiningen and Gotha. It is named after the river Ilm, flowing through the district.

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In medieval times the territory was ruled by the counts of Henneberg and the princes of Schwarzburg, two local dynasties. While Ilmenau was ruled by Henneberg, Arnstadt belonged to Schwarzburg. When the Henneberg family became extinct in 1583, Ilmenau was acquired by Saxony. In the meantime the principality of Schwarzburg began to disintegrate and was split up in several tiny states. One of those states (Schwarzburg-Arnstadt) was based in Arnstadt; it was founded in 1574 and existed until 1716, when it fell to Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. This mini state existed until 1920, when the state of Thuringia was founded.

Thuringia: The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Th?ringen) lies in central Germany and is among the smaller of the country's sixteen Bundesl?nder (federal states), with an area of 16,200 km? and 2.45 million inhabitants. The capital is Erfurt....

Erfurt: Erfurt is a city in central Germany. It is the capital of the state of Thuringia, a manufacturing centre with a population of 196,500....

Weimarer Land: Weimarer Land is a Kreis (district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the northeast clockwise) the district Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Saale-Holzland and the district-free city Jena, the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, Ilm-Kreis, and the district-fr...