Kleiner Gleichberg

Steinsburg is the colloquial name for the remains of a Celtic oppidum on the Kleiner Gleichberg in the German state of South Thuringia. It is located within the county of Hildburghausen by Waldhaus near the small town of Römhild. The Kleiner Gleichberg (641 m) and the neighbouring Großer Gleichberg (679 m) form a pair of "geological twins". Both mountains are basalt cones which are volcanic in origin. The name Steinsburg (867: Steinberg) ("stone castle") probably derives from the large stone fields that surround the mountain summit plateau. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe recognised the volcanic origin of these stone fields: the basalt of the former volcanic pipe crumbled as a result of erosion to form the blockfields visible today that are a typical indicator of collapsed volcano structures. These basalt blocks were used in Celtic times for the construction of dry stone walls that probably protected the oppidum. A total of three rings of walls were built surround the mountain like city walls. The outermost wall is three kilometres long and encloses an area of 66 hectares. Only a few short sections of these walls have been partially preserved, but the collapsed sections enable the old structure to be made out. In clearing large parts of the stone field for roadbuilding (from 1838), metal objects and other artefacts were discovered that were later recognised as of Celtic origin. The increasing amount of basalt quarrying from 1858 destroyed parts of the hillfort, especially the easily accessible lower wall rings, and brought a huge quantity of archaeological finds to the surface, of which mainly the metal objects have survived in various collections. On the initiative of Alfred Götze, the quarrying was stopped between 1902 and 1927. In 1929 the Steinsburg Museum was built on the saddle between the Großer and Kleiner Gleichberg and this is where the majority of finds are still on display today. The Gleichberge are thought by several researchers to the same place mentioned in the Geography of Ptolemy as the settlement of Bicurgium. In the specialist and local history literature, the names Kleiner Gleichberg and Steinsburg are both used to refer to the hillfort. The widespread destruction has led to the uncovering of an unusually high number of finds, especially metal objects. However, often the location and connexion of the finds was not noted. In addition, the older finds include very few items of pottery, because pieces of old ceramic vessels were not looked after in the 19th century. Excavations were carried out as early as 1874 by a Romhild doctor. In the early 20th century systematic excavations were carried out by prehistorian, Alfred Götze. In recent times several of the surviving fortification remains have been conserved, but in some cases had to be dismantled and re-assembled.

Gleicherwiesen in Thuringia is a part of the town Römhild.

Reurieth is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany.

Zeilbach is a river of Thuringia, Germany. It flows into the Werra in Reurieth.

Ehrenberg is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany.

Grimmelshausen is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany.

Schleuse is a river of Thuringia, Germany. It is a tributary of the Werra, which it joins in Kloster Veßra. The town Schleusingen lies on the Schleuse.

Vessra Abbey (German: Kloster Veßra) was a Premonstratensian monastery in the village also named Kloster Veßra in the district of Hildburghausen, Thuringia, Germany. The monastery was founded in the 1130s by Gotebold II, Count of Henneberg, and his wife Liutgard on a site near the confluence of the Schleuse and the Werra. The church was dedicated in 1138; the foundation received papal confirmation three years later. For the whole of its existence of more than four hundred years the abbey was the house monastery of the Hennebergs. It also had a close association with the von Bibra family, particularly in the 15th century. During the Reformation in 1543, the monastery was turned into an estate. The former monastery served another four hundred years as an agricultural estate, mostly in private hands, but after World War II as a possession of the East German state, and from 1953 as the site of a collective farm (Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft, or LPG). In 1975 the site was taken over by the Museum of the History of Agriculture of the DDR (Agrarhistorisches Museum der DDR). Since 1990 the site has been the home of the Hennebergische Museum, an open-air museum specialising in the display of re-located local buildings. The abbey church, dedicated to Saint Mary, was converted to the parish church, with much of the space used for storage. Most of the church structure was heavily damaged in a 1939 fire. One chapel continues to be used. The ruins are nevertheless substantial and after stabilisation it remains the most significant Romanesque building in the region. Of the monastic buildings themselves there remain the gate chapel and the accommodation block, including the ruins of the cloister.

Kloster Veßra is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen in Thuringia, Germany. Vessra Abbey (now an open-air museum) was founded and supported by the Henneberg family and abandoned after the Reformation. The church was used as a parish church until 1939 when it caught fire. It also had a close association with the von Bibra family in the 15th century.

Straufhain is a municipality in the Hildburghausen district of Thuringia, Germany.

Henneberg Franconia (German: Henneberg-Franken) is an historically correct term for the Franconian part of the Free State of Thuringia in Germany that is generally referred to as South Thuringia (Südthüringen). The region is almost exactly coextensive with that covered by the Planning Region of Southwest Thuringia, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of South Thuringia, the Trades Chamber of South Thuringia and the Agricultural Office of Hildburghausen.

Wolfmannshausen is a former municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, Germany. From December 1, 2007 it is part of Grabfeld.