Sömmerda

Sömmerda is a town near Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany, on the Unstrut river. It is the capital of the district of Sömmerda.

History

Archeological digs in the area that is now Sömmerda, formerly Leubingen, have uncovered prominently buried human remains dating to around 2000 BCE. One such burial of an individual, dubbed the "king of Leubingen" was buried in a 66-foot-wide (20 m) stone cairn set within a ring-shaped ditch.

Sömmerda was first mentioned in official documents in 876 CE. It probably became a town in about 1350 but there are no existing records of the event. One town gate, dating from 1395, and six towers from the old town walls are still standing.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) Sömmerda was at the heart of military activity, and soldiers from both sides ransacked the town, halving the population.

In 1840, Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse invented the needle gun and a firearms factory was founded in the town. In 1919 the Rheinmetall company took over the factory, later called Rheinmetall-Borsig, at first to produce automotive parts. Initially it concentrated with only little success on carburettors, then in 1925 an ambitious new manager, the engineer Fritz Faudi, took over and a new type of cardan joint was developed, which became extremely popular. The Rheinmetall-Faudi system was a well-known name, and the Sömmerda works were the largest producer in Germany.

Sömmerda (district)

Sömmerda (German: Landkreis Sömmerda) is a Kreis (district) in the north of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Kyffhäuserkreis, the Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Weimarer Land and the district-free city Erfurt, and the districts Gotha and Unstrut-Hainich.

History

The district Sömmerda was created in 1952. In 1994 the districts of Thuringia were reorganized, and the district Sömmerda was enlarged significantly by adding municipalities from the dissolved districts Artern and Erfurt-Land.

Geography

The main river in the district is the Unstrut.

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Coordinates: 51°10′N 11°10′E / 51.17°N 11.17°E / 51.17; 11.17