Suhl

Suhl is a city of 37,000 people (2018) in Thuringia. Suhl offers over 300 km of cycling and hiking trails and over 100 km of ski trails in its territory. Suhl and its northern neighbour Zella-Mehlis form the largest urban area in the Thuringian Forest.

Understand

View over Suhl

The region around Suhl is marked by almost 1,000-meter high mountains, including Thuringia's highest peak, the Großer Beerberg (983 m), approximately 5 km (3 miles) NE of the city centre.

History

Suhl was first mentioned in 1318 and stayed a small mining and metalworking town, until industrialization broke through in late 19th century and Suhl became a centre of Germany's arms production, specialized on rifles and guns with companies such as Sauer & Sohn. Furthermore, the engineering industry was based in Suhl with Simson, a famous car and moped producer.

In 1952, Suhl became one of East Germany's 14 district capitals, which led to a government-directed period of urban growth and conversion. Its results, a typical 1960s concrete architecture-marked city centre, are defining to the present. With the loss of its administrative and industrial functions, Suhl endured a lasting period of urban decline starting in 1990. In 1988, Suhl had 56,000 inhabitants. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a dramatic population decline began. Since then, more than 20,000 inhabitants have left he city, and entire districts have been razed to the ground.

Tourist information

Get in

By train

  • 🌍 Suhl Station. 

By car

Suhl is the endpoint of the A73 also known as "Frankenschnellweg"

Get around

See

  • 🌍 St. Mary's church. The main church of St. Mary from 1487-91 was rebuilt after the city fires in 1590, 1634 and 1753. It received its Rococo interior in 1761. It is considered the largest surviving Rococo church in eastern Germany. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 🌍 Kreuzkirche. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 🌍 Waffenmuseum (The Weapons Museum), the Malzhaus. Tu-Su 10:00-18:00. It describes itself as "Europe's only dedicated museum for small arms". In a beautifully renovated, large half-timbered building, there is a permanent exhibition on the subject of weapons and changing special exhibitions. €6, reduced €4. (updated Aug 2018)
  • 🌍 Suhl Vehicle Museum, Friedrich-König-Straße 7, ☏ +49 3681 705004. daily 10:00-18:00, last entry 17:00. The Suhl tradition of vehicle construction is made accessible to the public in this museum. All areas of vehicle construction (e.g., mopeds such as the famous Schwalbe and Simson) and in particular the history of Suhl motorsport are presented here. Adult €9 , reduced admission €7, family ticket: 2 adults + children €20. (updated Dec 2024)

Do

Buy

Eat

Budget

Midrange

Splurge

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Midrange

Splurge

Connect

Go next

Routes through Suhl
END ←  Suhl Frankenschnellweg Nürnberg  → Bamberg → Nuremberg


This article is issued from Wikivoyage. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.