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Gera

For other uses, see Gera (disambiguation).

Location of Gera within Thuringia
Gera
A view of Gera.


Coordinates	50°52′50″N 12°05′0″E / 50.88056°N 12.083333°E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
District	Urban district
Lord Mayor	Norbert Vornehm (SPD)

Basic statistics
Area	151.93 km (58.66 sq mi)
Elevation	205 m (673 ft)
Population	99,987 (31 December 2009)
- Density	658 /km (1,705 /sq mi)
Founded	995
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	G
Postal codes	07545–07557
Area codes	0365, 0336695
Website	www.gera.de

Gera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia (after Erfurt, the Thuringian capital, and Jena), lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster (literally the "White Magpie"), approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometers to the east of Erfurt. As of 2007 Gera had a population of approximately 102,000.

Geography

Gera lies at a height of between 180 meters (the level of the White Elster river) and 354 m (1,161.42 ft) (when measured at Gera-Falka at the furthest southeastern point). Usually the height above sea level for the city appears as 205 m (672.57 ft) when measured at the market place.

The largest city forest of all the towns of Thuringia, called the City Forest of Gera (Geraer Stadtwald), stands on the western edge of the city. Another forested tract borders on the northwest city boundary. The Zeitzer Forest in Saxony-Anhalt stands just northeast of the city.

History

The place name Gera originally referred to the area of the Elster river valley where the city now stands. The name likely originated before the European migration period - the Slavic people who first settled the area during the 8th century adopted the name. The first known documentary mention of Gera dates from 995.

In 999 Emperor Otto III assigned the "province" of Gera to the Quedlinburg Abbey. In turn, the church assigned the protectorship of this area in 1209 to the Vogts of Weida (in German: Vögte von Weida) who served as its administrators. The settlement of Gera acquired the rights of a city later in the 13th century. At first, the city grew only slowly. In 1450, it was almost totally destroyed during the Saxon Fratricidal War. Through inheritance over the following centuries, Gera eventually became part of the Reuss principalities.

In 1806 Napoleon set up his Imperial Headquarters at Gera during the War of the Fourth Coalition. From here, on October 12, 1806, the French Emperor sent an arrogant and threatening letter to King Frederick William III of Prussia - a letter that led directily to war and to the crushing defeat of Prussia at the Battle of Jena a few days later.

From 1848 to 1918 Gera served as the capital of the Reuss Junior Line principality. With the industrial revolution in the middle of the 19th century, Gera enjoyed rapid growth through its textile industry. Its wealth at that time is still demonstrated by the many city villas built in that era. The Schulenburg mansion designed by the Belgian artist Henry van de Velde is an example. The city became a railway center where many rail lines met — highlighting its importance.

In 1920 the city became part of the newly founded state of Thuringia.

Aerial bombing destroyed some parts of the city in 1945.

The city became a part of the newly created District of Gera (Bezirk Gera) in 1952 within the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). After the German reunification in 1990, Gera became part of the restored state of Thuringia — one of three metropolitan centers (Oberzentren) along with Jena and Erfurt. Since 1998, the Vocational Academy of Gera has found its home here, as well as a private school for allied health sciences. The city hosted the biennial federal horticultural show (Bundesgartenschau) in 2007.

Economy and labour

As of 2009 the city economy features the private health sector (SRH Waldklinikum), industrial machinery (Dagro Gera GmbH), communications (DTKS GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG), security locks (Schloßsicherungen Gera GmbH), optics (POG Präzisionsoptik Gera GmbH), electrical equipment (Electronicon Kondensatoren GmbH), and margarine manufacturing (Othüna). Other companies include a compressor manufacturer (Kompressorenwerk Kaeser), a precision-tool maker (SMK-Präzisionsmechanik), and a subsidiary of the construction company Max Bögl. The e-commerce service provider D+S Europe has a service center in Gera with several hundred workers, and Rittal, a manufacturer of information technology enclosures, recently moved from Bad Köstritz to Gera.

Some industrial branches operating before 1990 no longer have major importance. Sectors that either no longer exist or have been sharply reduced include those in toolmaking (VEB Wema Union), textiles (VEB Modedruck), textile machinery (VEB Textima), electronic equipment (VEB Elektronik Gera). Other industries that had a presence included VEB Carl Zeiss Jena and a brewery. One important industrial branch had been uranium-ore mining in nearby Ronneburg (SDAG Wismut).

The East Thuringia/Gera metropolitan area as a whole has a population of 450,000. This makes Gera a regional commercial center for retail. By 2003, the town had three major retail centers: Gera-Arcaden, Amthor-Passage, and Elster-Forum.

Though the third-largest city in Thuringia, Gera ranks in 7th place in terms of unemployment. The unemployment rate decreased from 15.4% in June 2007 to 14.9% in March 2009.

City organization

The city has 40 different communities, distributed amongst 12 municipal districts as follows:

City Center
Debschwitz
Gera-East
Gera-North/Gera-Langenberg
Bieblach-East
Bieblach/Tinz
Untermhaus
Gera-Western Suburbs
Gera-South/Falka
Lusan-Laune
Lusan-Center
Lusan-Brüte

Main sights

Sights in Gera include:

Museums in Gera include:

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 Leipzig-Altenburg (approx. 40 km). The Leipzig-Halle airport, with its with many international destinations, is about 90 km north of Gera.

There is a city tram/bus system run by the GVB (Geraer Verkehrsbetrieb).