Hoher Schwarm castle
899 Saalfeld is first mentioned in official documents as “saulauelda”
1012 Emperor Henry II grants the Saalfeld region to the Count Palatine of Lorraine
1071 Founding of a Benedictine monastery by Archbishop Anno II of Cologne, repealed in 1526
Former Franciscan monasteryAround
1180 The city of Saalfeld is founded by emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, construction of the present market square pharmacy as imperial administrative seat, beginnings of a town-like settlement
1208 Saalfeld receives the town charter from the Lords of the Manor, the Earls of Schwarzburg
1250 Founding of a Franciscan monastery, repealed in 1526 (today: city museum)
Coat of Arms
1346 Granting of fishing rights (river Saale) represented by the barbels in the municipal coat of arms
St. Johannis parish church
1389 The Wettins become the city’s sovereigns. Until 1918 the city remains under Saxon sovereignty
1482 Saalfeld receives the right to hold high justice blood courts
1514 Completion of St. Johannis parish church (construction started around 1380)
Town Hall
1517 Half the city is destroyed in a fire
1529 to 1537 Construction of the present Town Hall as an early example of Thuringian-Saxon renaissance architecture
1551 Erection of the sovereign’s Mint (of national significance), used until 1846
Market pharmacy
1617 to 1620 Erection of the renaissance building of the former city pharmacy in Saalstrasse
The Royal Stables
1677 to 1720 Erection of the Royal Seat and Palace, today seat of the district’s administrative office
1680 to 1745 Saalfeld becomes the royal seat of the Dukes of Saxony-Meiningen/Saxony-Coburg-Saalfeld
1806 Battle between Napoleonic and Prussian troops near Saalfeld, death of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia
1871 Inauguration of the Gera-Saalfeld-Eichicht railway line
1901 Mauxion chocolate factory established in Saalfeld
1904 The Thuringian museum of local history opens in the former Franciscan monastery
1914 Opening of the Fairy Grottoes as a mine and museum by Adolf Mützelburg
1920 Saalfeld becomes a district seat in the newly founded region of Thuringia
The Fairy Grottoes in Saalfeld
1937 Opening of the first German curative mining gallery at the Fairy Grottoes
1939 First electric railway line operated between Saalfeld and Nuremberg
1945 Severe bombing of Saalfeld
1950 Founding of the “Thüringer Sängerknaben” choir at St. John’s Church by Walter Schönheit
1950 Founding of the Saalfeld Symphonic Orchestra
Saalfeld Costume
1961 Inauguration of the Georgius Agricola Hospital (today: Thüringenklinik)
1993 Saalfeld becomes the seat of the newly founded district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
1995 Complete electrification of the Berlin-Leipzig-Munich railway line
1999 Saalfeld celebrates its 1100th anniversary
