SAALFELD

city, Thuringia Land (state), east-central Germany, on the Saale River, at the northeast edge of the Thringer Wald (forest), south of Weimar. First mentioned in 899 as a royal palace, it was the site of a Benedictine monastery founded in 1071. The present town dates from 1200. It was sold by the counts of Schwarzburg in 1389 to the House of Wettin and was the seat of the Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld from 1680 to 1735. In 1826 it came under Saxe-Meiningen. Notable buildings include the Hoher Schwarm (High Swarm), two towers surviving on a 12th13th-century citadel; the former ducal castle (16771726); the town hall (152637); the Church of St. John (13891456); and a former Franciscan abbey church (1275), now housing a museum. There are important ironworks and steelworks in Saalfeld, and machinery, dyes, and chocolate are manufactured. Slate is mined in the surrounding rural district. Pop. (1989 est.) 34,684.