Gera

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Categories: Cities in Thuringia | Settlements established in 995 | Articles lacking reliable references from April 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Gera

For other uses, see Gera (disambiguation).

Location of Gera within Germany
Gera
Image:Blick vom Rathausturm über Gera.jpg A view of Gera.
Coat of arms	Location
Image:Wappen Gera.png	Image:Karte Deutschland.png Image:Red pog2.svg
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
District	Urban district
Mayor	Norbert Vornehm (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	151.93 km² (58.7 sq mi)
Elevation	205 m (673 ft)
Population	102,486 (30/12/2006)^[1]
- Density	675 /km² (1,747 /sq mi)
Founded	995
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	G
Postal codes	07457-07557
Area codes	0365, 0336695
Website	www.gera.de
Image:Lage der kreisfreien Stadt Gera in Deutschland.png Coordinates: 50°52′50″N 12°05′00″E / 50.88056, 12.083333

Gera is the second largest city in the German state of Thuringia after Erfurt, the Thuringian capital. It is situated in east Thuringia on the river "White Elster" (literally the "White Magpie"), approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometers to the east of Erfurt. In 2006 Gera had a population of approximately 102,000.

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Transportation
4 Twin towns
5 Notable natives
6 External links
7 References

History

The name Gera was first mentioned in 995. From 1848 to 1918, Gera was the capital of the Reuss junior line principality. In 1920 the city became part of Thuringia (German: Thüringen). Large portions of the city were destroyed by aerial bombing in 1945. Until German reunification in 1990, the city belonged to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

Main sights

Sights in Gera include:

Town Hall (1576, Renaissance)
Market Square with Simson-fountain
Castle Osterstein (largely destroyed 1945)
City Pharmacy
Theater (1902)
Villa Schulenburg, designed by Henry van de Velde
St. Johannis church (Neo-Gothic)
St. Salvator church (Baroque with Art Nouveau interior decoration)
St. Marien church (Late Gothic)
St. Trinitatis church (Late Gothic)
Old beer cellars called "Geraer Höhler"
Zoo Gera (since 1973)

Museums in Gera include:

City Museum
Otto Dix House
Art Galley "Orangerie"
Museum of Natural History ("Schreiber House", oldest building in the city)
Museum for Applied Arts ("Ferber House")

In 2007 Gera, together with Ronneburg, is venue of the Bundesgartenschau (the federal horticultural show).

Transportation

In the eastern part of Gera lies the airfield Gera-Leumnitz. The nearest airport is Altenburg-Nobitz (approx. 40 km). The airport Leipzig-Halle with many international destinations is about 90 km north of Gera.

Twin towns

Notable natives

Johann Heinrich Gottfried Koch, (1705-1775)
Heinrich Gustav Beck, (1857-1933), Ministerpräsident of Saxony 1914-1918
Otto Dix (1891-1969), artist
Rudolf Paul, (1893-1978), President of Thuringia 1945-1947
Karl Weschke, (1925-2005), painter
Georg Buschner, (born 1925), head coach East Germany national football team
Helga Königsdorf, (born 1938), mathematician and author
Marlies Göhr, (born 1958), athlete
Olaf Ludwig, (born 1960), racing cyclist
Wolfgang Tiefensee, (born 1955), politician
Heike Drechsler, (born 1964), athlete
Jens Heppner, (born 1964), racing cyclist

External links

Image:Question book-3.svg

This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications.
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This article has been tagged since April 2007.

Gera Official website of the city

References

^ Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik. Population of Thuringia by district. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.

v • d • e Image:Flag of Thuringia (state).svg Urban and rural districts in the Free State of Thuringia in Germany
Urban districts	Eisenach · Erfurt · Gera · Jena · Suhl · Weimar
Rural districts	Altenburger Land · Eichsfeld · Gotha · Greiz · Hildburghausen · Ilm-Kreis · Kyffhäuserkreis · Nordhausen · Saale-Holzland · Saale-Orla-Kreis · Saalfeld-Rudolstadt · Schmalkalden-Meiningen · Sömmerda · Sonneberg · Unstrut-Hainich · Wartburgkreis · Weimarer Land