Sonneberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the town in Thuringia. For the hill of the same name, see Sonneberg (hill). For district, see Sonneberg (district). For village in the Czech Republic, see Slunečná.
Sonneberg
Town hall
Town hall
Coat of arms of Sonneberg
Coat of arms
Location of Sonneberg within Sonneberg district
Sonneberg is located in Germany
Sonneberg
Sonneberg
Coordinates: 50°21′N 11°10′E / 50.350°N 11.167°E / 50.350; 11.167Coordinates: 50°21′N 11°10′E / 50.350°N 11.167°E / 50.350; 11.167
CountryGermany
StateThuringia
DistrictSonneberg
Government
 • Mayor (2016–22) Dr. Heiko Voigt[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total84.69 km2 (32.70 sq mi)
Elevation
400 m (1,300 ft)
Population
 (2020-12-31)[2]
 • Total23,229
 • Density270/km2 (710/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
96515
Dialling codes03675, 036762, 036703
Vehicle registrationSON, NH
Websitewww.sonneberg.de

Sonneberg is a town in Thuringia, Germany, which is the seat of the Sonneberg district.

It is renowned as a center of toy production and was dubbed the "toy capital of the world" in the 1920s; during this time, US trade giants Kresge and Woolworth built large warehouses here for exportation. It is the home of the German Toy Museum and PIKO, a model railway manufacturer which became one of the few such enterprises in the Warsaw Pact countries and as such supplied model trains depicting railway stock of all the Soviet bloc countries.

In divided post-war Germany, Sonneberg found itself within the borders of East Germany, cut off from its large neighbouring town of Coburg, Bavaria in West Germany and could only face north economically. It was served by an unnaturally winding railway route and thus became somewhat isolated from the rest of East Germany. Sonneberg Hauptbahnhof is served by the Coburg–Sonneberg line.

Subdivisions[]

The town Sonneberg consists of the following subdivisions:

  • Bettelhecken
  • Hönbach
  • Hüttensteinach
  • Köppelsdorf
  • Malmerz
  • Mürschnitz
  • Neufang
  • Oberlind
  • Obere Stadt
  • Steinbach
  • Untere Stadt
  • Unterlind
  • Wehd
  • Wolkenrasen

Since 31 December 2013, when the former municipality Oberland am Rennsteig was merged into Sonneberg, the following villages also form part of Sonneberg: Haselbach, Eschenthal, Hasenthal, Hüttengrund and Spechtsbrunn.

Sonneberg

Number of inhabitants[]

Population development

1829-1981

  • 1829: 3,028
  • 1895: 12,167
  • 1905: 15,003
  • 1946: 21,534
  • 1950: 30,182
  • 1960: 28,936
  • 1981: 28,733

1984-1999

  • 1984: 28,440
  • 1994: 25,880
  • 1995: 25,481
  • 1996: 25,297
  • 1997: 25,151
  • 1998: 24,951
  • 1999: 24,892

2000-2006

  • 2000: 24,837
  • 2001: 24,690
  • 2002: 24,582
  • 2003: 24,246
  • 2004: 24,026
  • 2005: 23,805
  • 2006: 23,681

2007-2013

  • 2007: 23,252
  • 2008: 22,807
  • 2009: 22,529
  • 2010: 22,356
  • 2011: 22,222
  • 2012: 21,737
  • 2013: 23,796

from 2014

  • 2014: 23,620
  • 2015: 23,736
Data source since 1994: Thuringia statistical office

Notable people[]

August Schleicher
Cuno Hoffmeister

References[]

  1. ^ Gewählte Bürgermeister - aktuelle Landesübersicht, Freistaat Thüringen, accessed 14 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden, erfüllenden Gemeinden und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften in Thüringen Gebietsstand: 31.12.2020". Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik (in German). June 2021.

External links[]

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