Bad Berka () is a German
spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...
, situated in the south of Weimar region in the state of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
. With its almost 8,000 inhabitants Bad Berka is the second biggest city in
Weimarer Land
Weimarer Land is a ''Landkreis'' (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 (after
Apolda
Apolda () is a town in central Thuringia, Germany, the capital of the Weimarer Land district. It is situated in the center of the triangle Weimar–Jena–Naumburg near the river Ilm, c. east by north from Weimar. Apolda station lies on the Ha ...
, 23,000). The river flowing through the town, which is embedded in new red sandstone, is called
Ilm. Since 1 December 2008, the city has incorporated the former municipality of
Gutendorf.
Bad Berka is a spa town with an iron-rich spring and
Kneipp facilities. In 2002 the award of "State Recognised Spa with Mineral Spring Health Facility" was given to the city.
In order to treat
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, a clinic was erected in 1952. This was the beginning of the main economic sector of the city. Bad Berka's Zentralklinik has since gained a reputation as a center of medicinal expertise far beyond the boundaries of Germany. Its foundation can be traced back to 1898.
In addition, there was a rehabilitation clinic built after the
fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...
. The "Median-Klinik" consists of two buildings, which were opened in 1994 and 1997.
Because of its proximity to the cultural capital
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
and association with numerous historical figures, Bad Berka is also popular among tourists. Between 1812 and 1828
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
visited his friend
Heinrich Friedrich Schütz several times. He was also involved in the plans of the spa. Therefore, Bad Barka is called "Das Goethebad im Grünen" (Goethe spa in greenery), as well. Bad Berka is surrounded by spruce and beech forest.
Other bigger cities in the vicinity are
Jena
Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...
( north-east),
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
( north-west) and
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
( north).
History
In 1251, a
Cistercian nunnery was founded at Bad Berka, and the
sulphur bath spa was established in 1813.
Within the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
(1871–1918), Bad Berka was part of the
Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolution o ...
.
In 1945, bombing targets of the
Oil Campaign of World War II were the Bad Berka oil plant,
[
] oil storage, and underground
forced labor
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
plant.
The annual
Party.San Open Air music festival was first held in 1996.
Sons and daughters of the town
* Otto Fries (1849–1905), politician
National Liberal Party (Germany)
The National Liberal Party (, NLP) was a liberal party of the North German Confederation and the German Empire which flourished between 1867 and 1918.
During the Prussian-led unification of Germany, the National Liberals became the dominant part ...
, member of Reichstag
* Hugo Günther (1891–1954), party functionary (SPD/KPD/KPO/SED) and insurance director
*
Hans Carl Nipperdey (1895–1968), law professor, first president of the Federal Labour Court
* Hartmut Griesmayr (born 1945), screenwriter and director
*
Henry Augustus Siebrecht, horticulturalist (1839–1934) born in Berka, studied in Göttingen, emigrated to America.
People who are connected to the town

*
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
(1749–1832), writer, stayed there as a visitor and bathing guest
*
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (; ; 23 January 1751 ( OS 12 January 1750) – 4 June 1792 .S. 24 May 1792 was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement.
Life
Lenz was born in Seßwegen (Cesvaine), Governorate of Livonia, Russia ...
(1751–1792), poet of
Sturm und Drang
(, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto-Romanticism, Romantic movement in German literature and Music of Germany, music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity an ...
, wrote several works here
*
Dietrich Georg von Kieser
Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "ruler of the people", but also "keeper of the keys" or "lockpick" (either the tool or the profession).
Given name
* Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398–1440)
* Thierry of Alsace (; 1099–1168), ...
(1779–1862), medical doctor, worked as a physician in Berka
*
Adolf Brütt (1855–1939), sculptor, worked in Weimar and Bad Berka, since 1928 honorary citizen of the city
*
Hans Gerhard Gräf (1864–1942), Goethe researcher, investigated the relationship between Goethe and Bad Berka
*
Martin Hellberg (1905–1999), author, actor and director, worked and lived in Bad Berka
*
Wolfgang Blochwitz
Wolfgang Blochwitz (8 February 1941 – 8 May 2005) was a football goalkeeper from East Germany.
Playing career
During his club career he played for 1. FC Magdeburg (1960–1966) and FC Carl Zeiss Jena (1966–1976). He made 275 appearan ...
(1941–2005), football player, active among others for Carl Zeiss Jena, died in Bad Berka
*
Albrecht Schröter (born 1955), educator and social scientist, Mayor of Jena from 2006 to 2018, worked as a speaker at ThILLM in Bad Berka from 1996 to 2000
*
Henry Augustus Siebrecht (1849–1934), florist, "Father of Fifth Avenue"
Town twinning
Bad Berka is
twinned with:
*
Żabno
Żabno is a town and municipality on the river Dunajec in southern Poland, north of Tarnów. Since Poland's administrative reorganization in 1999, Żabno has been a part of Tarnów powiat which belongs to Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Before admi ...
, Poland
*
Solesmes, Nord
Solesmes (; Picard: ''Solinmes'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
Population
Heraldry
Education
The city is home to:
* the École Saint-Joseph.
* the ' Institution Saint Michel: Collège and Lycée', a Catholic S ...
, France
References
{{Authority control
Oil campaign of World War II
Towns in Thuringia
Weimarer Land
Spa towns in Germany