The city of Schleusingen in the Henneberger Land got its name from the river Schleuse, which passes through its city districts Ratscher and Rappelsdorf. The city itself is located on the river Nahe, a tributary of the Schleuse, which runs south of the core city area. From the north, from Erlau, the Erle river joins the Nahe river in Schleusingen.
City Arrangement
The city of Schleusingen includes next to the core city another seventeen districts: Altendambach, Breitenbach, Erlau, Fischbach, Geisenhöhn, Gethles, Gottfriedsberg, Heckengereuth, Hirschbach, Hinternah, Oberrod, Rappelsdorf, Ratscher, Schleusingerneundorf, Silbach, Sankt Kilian and Waldau In addition, terms for residential areas such as' 'Upper-' 'and' 'Lower Town, Schmuckplatz, Weißer Berg, Hirtengrund, Kalkrangen, Sonneneck, Rubetal ' etc. are common in the population.
History
Schleusingen was first mentioned in documents in 1232 as 'Villa Slusungen'. Earl Poppo VII of Henneberg built as a residence and fortification in the period from 1226 to 1232 the Bertholdsburg. 1274 was the division of the Shire Henneberg into three lines. The Bertholdsburg then became the residence of the Schleusinger line of the Earls of Henneberg. Schleusingen experienced a first fire catastrophe in the year 1353. Further town fires in 1679, 1765, 1773 and 1876 destroyed whole districts of the city. In 1412 Schleusingen received the Stadtrecht but only in 1533 the Marktrecht. In 1502 Earl Wilhelm IV. founded a Barfüsserkloster in the outskirts. During the riots in the German Peasants' War in the spring of 1525, the inhabitants, documents and valuables of the neighboring monasteries Veßra and Trostadt were sent to Schleusingen to be brought to safety at the Bertholdsburg. In 1544 the Reformation was introduced. The Aegidienkapelle of the St. Johannis Church became the burial place of the Earls of Henneberg in 1566 and of Elisabeth of Brandenburg. The Barfüsserkloster was transferred into state ownership and from 1560 it was used as a school. On June 7, 1577 this school was inaugurated on as a Gymnasium, with whose death the royal line was extinguished, Schleusingen was transferred to the Saxon dukes of the Ernestine and the Albertiner line, at first under joined administration. From 1500 to 1806 Schleusingen belonged to the Franconian Imperial Circle.
