Zella-Mehlis is a town in the

Schmalkalden-Meiningen Schmalkalden-Meiningen is a '' Landkreis'' in the southwest of Thuringia, Germany. Its neighboring districts are (from the northwest clockwise) the districts Wartburgkreis, Gotha, Ilm-Kreis, the district-free city Suhl, the district Hildburghaus ...

district 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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated in the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

, approximately 5km north of

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...

and 20km east of

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

History

Two of Germany's most notable firearm manufacturers,

Walther Walther () is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a German form of Walter, which is derived from the Old High German '' Walthari'', containing the elements ''wald'' -"power", "brightness" or "forest" and ''hari'' -"warrior". The name was ...

and Anschütz, were founded in Zella-Mehlis. They operated there until the Soviet occupation of Eastern Germany at the conclusion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

caused both companies to move. In January 2019, the former municipality of Benshausen was integrated into Zella-Mehlis, expanding the town's jurisdiction.

Historical population

Twin towns

Zella-Mehlis is twinned with: *

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

, Germany * Gemünden am Main, Germany *

Saint-Martin-d'Hères Saint-Martin-d'Hères (; ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration),

, France

Thuringia Zella-Mehlis asv2020-07 img01 railway station

People

* Helmut Recknagel (* 1937), the first German Olympic ski jumping champion and world champion, started for SC Motor Zella-Mehlis * Johann Kaspar Friedrich Manso (1759-1826), teacher, historian and philologist * Johann Heinrich Ehrhardt (1805-1883), locomotive builder, engineer of the Saxon Railroad * Johann Peter Haseney (1812-1869), copper engraver, creator of the first German stamp "Schwarzer Einser" (Black one) * Karl Künstler (1901–1945), Nazi SS concentration camp commandant * Michael Schumann (1946-2000), professor of philosophy, politician (SED, PDS), Member of the Brandenburg Landtag, Member of the Bundestag * Anja Kampe (born 1968), opera singer * Carl Walther (1858-1915), gunsmith * Marcel Callo (1921-1945),

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

member of the Roman Catholic Church, a location in Zella-Mehlis was named after him * Horst Queck (born 1943), ski jumper *

Reinhard Heß Reinhard Heß (13 June 1945 – 24 December 2007) was a German ski jumping coach. He was the national team's coach from 1993 until 2003, helping the sport in becoming popular in Germany. Heß was born in Lauscha, Thuringia. The jumpers he tr ...

(1945-2007), ski jumping coach of the German national team * Fredi Albrecht (born 1947), wrestler and competitor, visited the children's and youth sports school here * Klaus-Peter Göpfert (born 1948), wrestler, attended the children's and sports school in Zella-Mehlis * Rainer Schmidt (born 1948), ski jumper, overall winner of the

Four Hills Tournament The Four Hills Tournament () or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week () is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in Germany and Austria each year since 1953. With few exceptions, it has consisted of the ski ju ...

, lives in Zella-Mehlis * Christoph Matschie (born 1961), politician, SPD Chairman of the State of Thuringia 1999–2014, minister and parliamentary secretary of state, received training as a mechanic in Zella-Mehlis *

Kati Wilhelm Kati Wilhelm (; born 2 August 1976 in Schmalkalden) is a German former professional Biathlon, biathlete. Like most German biathletes she is also a member of the German Armed Forces (''Bundeswehr'') with the rank of master sergeant (''Feldwebel#B ...

(born 1976), biathlete *

Sebastian Haseney Sebastian Haseney (born August 27, 1978, in Suhl) is a former Germany, German nordic combined skier who has competed since 1999. He won two silver medals in the 4 x 5 km team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (2005, 200 ...

(born 1978),

Nordic Combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

skier * Franz Göring (born 1984), cross-country skier, lives in Zella-Mehlis * Andi Langenhan (born 1984), luger * Frank Rommel (born 1984), skeleton racer * Tino Edelmann (born 1985), Nordic Combined skier

References

Schmalkalden-Meiningen {{SchmalkaldenMeiningen-geo-stub