Heldburg

Heldburg (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛltbʊʁk]) is a town and a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, in central Germany. The municipality was created with effect from 1 January 2019 by the merger of the former municipalities of Bad Colberg-Heldburg, Gompertshausen and Hellingen. It is situated 16 km south of Hildburghausen, and 18 km west of Coburg.

Heldburg
Town
Location of Heldburg within Hildburghausen district
Heldburg Show map of Germany Heldburg Show map of Thuringia
Coordinates: 50°17′N 10°44′E
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
District	Hildburghausen
Municipal assoc.	Heldburger Unterland
Subdivisions	13
Government
• Mayor (2019–25)	Christopher Other[1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	112.74 km2 (43.53 sq mi)
Elevation	288 m (945 ft)
Population  (2024-12-31)[2]
• Total	3,261
• Density	29/km2 (75/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	98663
Dialling codes	036871
Vehicle registration	HBN
Website	stadt-heldburg.de

Administrative division

• Albingshausen
• Bad Colberg
• Einöd
• Gellershausen
• Gompertshausen
• Heldburg
• Hellingen
• Holzhausen
• Käßlitz
• Lindenau
• Poppenhausen
• Rieth
• Völkershausen
• Volkmannshausen

History

Heldburg was first mentioned in 837. It lies at the foot of the Heldburg Fortress. In 1374 it passed to the landgraves of Thuringia.^[3] Heldburg was granted town rights in 1394.

In 1900, the town had a population of 1,040.^[3]

During World War II, on 11 May 1942, the present-day district of Poppenhausen was the site of a massacre of 20 Polish prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp, who were publicly hanged by the Gestapo.^[4] After the war, the town was part of East Germany.

In 1993 it became part of the municipality Bad Colberg-Heldburg.^[5]