List of personalities of the city of Eisenach
This is a list of the personalities who were born in the city of Eisenach or who worked there. It is divided into categories and arranged alphabetically within these categories.
sons and daughters of the town
Visual artist
- Wolfgang Arnold (* 1954), painter and restorer
- Erich Bock (1899–1981), painter and draftsman
- Hanns Bock (1885–1966), draftsman
- Ernst Hugo Brehme (1882–1954), photographer
- August Erich (1591–1670), art and portrait painter
- Hermann Hahn (1841–1929), architect
- Paul Hempe (1886–1973), painter and draftsman, creator of "Henner" and "Frieder" (two originals of the summer win )
- Hermann Hosaeus (1875–1958), sculptor
- Susanne Kandt-Horn (1914–1996), painter and graphic artist
- Thomas Karsten (* 1958), photographer
- Günther Laufer (1907–1992), blacksmith, metal sculptor, restorer
- Heinrich Müller (* before 1800; † unknown), painter and draftsman
- Claus Nageler (1943–2017), sculptor
- Ernst August Bernhard Petri (1744–1809), landscape architect
- Friedrich Preller the Elder Ä. (1804–1878), painter and etcher
- Isolde Schmitt-Menzel (* 1930), graphic artist and creator of the "Maus" (the broadcast with the mouse)
- Felix Schuchard (1865–1944), painter and draftsman
- Hermann Wislicenus (1825–1899), painter
- Erich Windbichler (* 1904; † after 1944), painter and sculptor
Literati
- August Becker (1828–1891), writer
- Thomas C. Breuer (* 1952), writer and cabaret artist
- Hermann Buddensieg (1893–1976), writer, editor and translator
- Walter Conrad (1922–2006), writer and non-fiction author on the history of technology
- Daniela Danz (* 1976), writer
- Claire Din (* 1958), poet and lyricist
- Walter Flex (1887–1917), World War II poet
- Ernst Heusinger (1792–1884), writer and collector of sagas
- Rainer Hohberg (* 1952), children's book and radio play author
- Horst Jäger (1928–2009), writer
- Johann Michael Koch (1677–1730), local history researcher and narrator
- Max Kürschner (1893–1982), local writer
- Friedrich Lienhard (1865–1929), writer and spokesman for the " Heimatkunst movement "
- Johannes Limberg (around 1650 - 1714), clergyman and author of travel literature
- Melchior Merle (1532–1604), Eisenach councilor and author of a rhyming chronicle about the city
- Anna Hilaria Preuß (1873–1948), writer
- Marianne Reussing (1757–1831), writer
- Fritz Rollberg (1890–1938), main initiator and co-founder of the "Heimatblätter" series
- Michael Schindhelm (* 1960), author and theater director
- Eleonore Sophie Auguste Thon (1753–1807), writer
- Jodocus Trutfetter (around 1460 - 1519), theologian and writer of the 15th century
- Rudolf Weiss (1920–1974), writer
- Eduard Zahn (1872–1937), humorist and local poet
- Hans Severus Ziegler (1893–1978), publicist and artistic director
Musicians and composers
- Johann Ernst Bach (1722–1777), composer, court and town organist at the Georgenkirche in Eisenach
- Johann Georg Bach (1751–1797), court and town organist at the Georgenkirche in Eisenach
- Johann Jacob Bach (1682–1722), oboist in the court orchestra of the Swedish king
- Johann Nikolaus Bach (1669–1753), composer from the Bach family
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist
- Thomas Buchholz (* 1961), composer
- Johann Wilhelm Hertel (1727–1789), composer
- Ruth Hohmann (* 1931), jazz singer
- Siegfried Kuhn (1893–1915), composer
- Horst Lippmann (1927–1997), jazz musician
- Thomas Reuter (* 1952), composer, choir director and pianist
Natural and human sciences
- Ernst Abbe (1840–1905), astronomer, mathematician, physicist, optician, entrepreneur and social reformer
- Walter Ackermann (1889–1978), educator
- Stefan Breuer (* 1948), sociologist and university professor
- Karl Clausberg (* 1938), art historian and university professor
- Arno Fuchs (1869–1945), auxiliary school / curative teacher
- Karl Hermann Funkhänel (1808–1874), philologist and educator
- Ernst Bruno von Gersdorff (Bruno de Gerstorff, 1820–1883), German-American doctor
- Eleonore Heerwart (1835–1911), reform pedagogue
- Elmar K. Jessberger (1943–2017), physicist, planetologist and university professor
- Karl Ferdinand Kern (1814–1868) therapeutic educator and doctor
- Günther Kraft (1907–1977), musicologist and university professor, from 1964 to 1971 director of the Bach House
- Peter Krüger (1935–2011), historian and university professor
- Rosemarie Leineweber (* 1951), prehistoric
- Heinz Mansfeld (1899–1959), art historian and monument conservator
- Ralf-Peter Märtin (1951–2016), historian, author and publishing manager
- Auguste Möder (1830–1897), teacher
- Christian Franz Paullini (1643–1712), doctor and polymath
- Friedrich Christian Gottlieb Perlet (1767–1828), educator and philologist
- Günter Pickert (1917–2015), mathematician
- Wilhelm Rein (1847–1929), theologian and reform pedagogue
- Walter Reppe (1892 in Göringen - 1969), chemist
- Christian Schreiber (1781–1857), philosopher, educator, poet
- Theodor Thon (1792–1838), mineralogist and stenographer
Politician
- Alfred Appelius (1858–1932), last President of the Landtag in the Grand Duchy of Saxony ( Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach )
- Julius Appelius (1826–1900), President of the State Parliament, President of the Regional Court, President of the Regional Synod
- Rudolf (Friedrich) Arnold (1896–1950 in Eisenach), communist toolmaker, party functionary, member of the Thuringian state parliament, resistance fighter, victim of the Nazi justice system, prisoner in the Nohra and Buchenwald concentration camps and mayor
- Ernst Ludwig Avemann (1609–1689), Chancellor in the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha
- Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (* 1946), CDU politician
- Gerlinde Berk (* 1940), SPD politician
- Michael Büttner (1599–1677), civil servant in various offices
- Friedrich von Eichel-Streiber (1876–1943), lawyer and Thuringian state politician
- Hans Fischer (1924–1983), GDR diplomat
- Werner Fischer (1902–1976), Lord Mayor 1946–1953
- Evelin Groß (* 1958), CDU politician
- Günter Höch (1921–2015), MdL Baden-Württemberg (SPD) 1965–1972
- Gerry Kley (* 1960), FDP politician
- August Roese (1807-1891), Lord Mayor from 1847 to 1884 ("Mayor for life")
- Botho Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1927–2008), politician
- Helga Solinger (* 1939), social worker and politician (SPD), former minister in Baden-Württemberg
- Christian August Thon (1755–1829), head of government (1814–1829) of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach
- Friedrich Unteutsch (1891–1947), administrative lawyer and district administrator for the Eisenach district
actor
- Johannes Achtelik (* 1949), actor
- Claus Clausen (1899–1989), actor
- Raimund Gensel (1940–2002), actor
- Jenny König (* 1986), actress
- Lisa-Marie Koroll (* 1997), actress
- Marlene Marlow (born 1974), actress
- Heiko Senst (* 1968), actor and director
- Frithjof Vierock (* 1943), actor
athlete
- Jürgen Beck (* 1959), handball player
- Marcus Grna (* 1974), handball player
- Stephan Just (* 1979), handball player
- Bobby Kohlrausch (1904–1953), racing car driver
- Steffen Kraus (* 1968), soccer player
- Richard Leopold (1909–1997), weightlifter
- Alexander Rödiger (* 1985), bobsledder
- Bettina Schmidt (1960–2019), luge athlete, first Olympic participant in Eisenach
- Juliane Seyfarth (* 1990), ski jumper
- Marion Thees (* 1984), skeleton pilot
- Benjamin Trautvetter (* 1985), handball player
- Johannes Voigtmann (* 1992), basketball player
- Karl Völker (1796–1884), gymnastics teacher, student of gymnastics father Jahn
Theologians and church officials
- Ingo Braecklein (1906–2001), Bishop of the Evangelical Church of Thuringia
- Friedrich Coch (1887–1945), State Bishop of Saxony
- Hans Herbst (1926–1997), church councilor and superintendent
- Dietrich von Heymann (* 1935), Protestant theologian
- Johannes Himmel (1546–1626), pastor and archdeacon
- Johannes de Indagine (1415–1475), prior of the Eisenach Charterhouse, reform theologian and author of theological writings
- Rudolf Losse (around 1310 - 1364), legal scholar and dean of Mainz Cathedral
- Severus Christoph Olpius (1623–1673), moral philosopher and Lutheran theologian
- Tobias Schüfer (* 1967), regional bishop of Meiningen-Suhl
- Heinrich Schwerdt (1810 in Neukirchen - 1888), pastor, educator and writer
- Johann Gustav Stickel (1805–1896), Protestant theologian, orientalist and numismatist
- Jodocus Trutfetter Isenacensis (1460–1519), Catholic theologian and teacher of Luther in Erfurt
Resistance fighters against National Socialism
- Ernst Böckel (1909–1940), communist and anti-fascist resistance fighter
- Willy Enders (1886–1938), social democrat and trade unionist
- Paul Göpel (1887–1940), communist and free thinker
- Erich Honstein (1904–1934), communist and anti-fascist resistance fighter
- Fritz Koch (1901–1933), communist and anti-fascist resistance fighter
- Otto Speßhardt (1911–1945), communist and anti-fascist resistance fighter
- Heinrich Zieger (1900–1933), communist and anti-fascist resistance fighter
With the exception of Paul Göpel, those named were posthumously honored during the GDR era by naming Eisenacher streets.
Benefactors and patrons
- Julius von Eichel-Streiber (1820–1905), patron and large landowner
- Alexander Ganss (1829–1902), patron and namesake of the Alexander Ganss Foundation for the benefit of the sick and destitute
- Wilhelm Heinrich Werneburg (1778-1859), merchant and patron, founded a "dining establishment for the poor and those in need"
Others
- Bernhard von Arnswald (1807–1877), first captain of the Wartburg
- Walther Bacmeister (1877–1953), journalist, publisher and member of the Prussian House of Representatives
- Karl Ferdinand Batsch (1831–1898), admiral and co-founder of the Prussian-German Navy
- Hans von Boineburg-Lengsfeld (1889–1980), Lieutenant General in the Wehrmacht in World War II
- Dietrich von Bothmer (1918–2009), classical archaeologist
- Reinhold Brunner (* 1961), city archivist and author
- Carl Wilhelm Ettinger (1741–1804), bookseller and publisher
- Paul Forkardt (1886–1835), machine tool industrialist
- Luise von Göchhausen (1752–1807), first lady-in-waiting of the Duchess Anna Amalia
- Karl-Heinz Günther (1926–2010), educational scientist and university professor
- Werner Krämer (1913–1981), SS-Hauptscharführer and block leader in Sachsenhausen concentration camp
- Ekkehart Krippendorff (1934–2018), political scientist
- Werner Löwisch (1894–1971), Vice Admiral in the Navy
- Frank Mater (1963–1984), fatality on the inner-German border
- Johann Christian Friedrich Meyer (1777-1854), forest scientist
- Bernhard Schramm (1924–2016), bank manager, President of the BVR
- Johann Georg Sckell (1725–1800), court gardener in Wilhelmsthal and Eisenach
- Charlotte von Stein (1742–1827), lady-in-waiting to Duchess Anna Amalie, close confidante of Goethe
- Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz (1796–1877), Prussian field marshal
- Hermann Trebelius (around 1475 - after 1515), first book printer in Eisenach
- George Wiedemann (1833–1890), brewer, owner of the Wiedemann Brewing Company in the USA
- Hans-Jochen Witthauer (* 1950), Vice Admiral of the German Navy
- Wilhelm Otto von Wittich called von Hinzmann-Hallmann (1815–1894), Prussian major general
- Siegfried Wolff (1888–1944), Jewish pediatrician, murdered in Auschwitz
- Stefan Wolter (* 1967), historian
People of the city's history
- Nikolaus von Amsdorf (1483–1565), theologian and reformer, confidante of Martin Luther
- Hermann Arnswald (1813–1894), Wartburg captain 1877 to 1894, completion of the restoration work
- Sigfried Asche (1906–1985), art historian and director of the Wartburg Foundation
- Werner Assmann (1924–1993), handball player, coach of the handball team at BSG Motor Eisenach
- Johann Ambrosius Bach (1645–1695), musician and Eisenach town music director
- Johann Bernhard Bach (1676–1749), composer and from 1703 organist of the Georgenkirche
- Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703), composer and from 1665 organist of the Georgenkirche
- Ernst Badstübner (* 1931), art historian and castle captain of the Wartburg
- Julie von Bechtolsheim (1751–1847), poet and benefactress, her house was one of the cultural centers of the city at the beginning of the 19th century
- August Becker (1828–1891), writer, retired to Eisenach after hostility towards his novel “Behaved”
- Hedwig Bender (1854–1928), philosopher and women's rights activist, lived and worked for a time in Eisenach
- Friedewald Berg (1912–1992), actor and temporarily director at the Eisenacher Theater
- Hans Sittich von Berlepsch , bailiff at the Wartburg from 1517 to 1525
- Paul Birr (1889–1945), sculptor, created numerous monuments in the city
- Herrmann Blechschmidt (1882–1934), painter and graphic artist, director of the Eisenach drawing school
- Arno Bliedner (1848–1931), botanist and textbook author, researched the flora around Eisenach
- Hanns Bock (1885–1966), painter, illustrator for Ludwig Bechstein and the "Eisenacher Tagespost"
- Johann Georg Bornemann (1831–1896), geologist and manufacturer, his finds formed the basis of the prehistoric department of the Thuringian Museum
- Rudolf Denhardt (1845–1908), doctor and founder of a language hospital
- Gustav Ehrhardt (1868–1945), automobile pioneer and vehicle designer, first director of the Eisenach vehicle factory
- Heinrich Ehrhardt (1840–1928), founder of the Eisenach vehicle factory
- Ernst Eilers (1917–2002), historian, author of numerous articles on more recent Eisenach history
- Albert Erbslöh (1848–1912), founder of the Petersberger Brewery and chairman of the United Eisenacher Breweries, Petersberger und Schlossbrauerei AG
- Gerhard Hasse (1925–2001), chief physician of the Deaconess Hospital, civil rights activist and city council member
- Karl Hofferbert (1877–1942), architect and city builder, castle building officer of the Wartburg
- Elger IV. Zu Hohenstein († 1242), first prior of the Eisenach Dominican monastery
- Johann Hilten (≈ 1425–1507), monk and apocalyptic
- Christian Juncker (1668–1714), historian and city chronicler
- Heinrich Kahle (1832–1902), publisher and editor of the "Eisenacher Zeitung"
- Friedrich Koch (1813–1872), was a student and court master in Eisenach, founded a Progymnasium in the city and was a professor at the secondary school
- Philipp Kühner (1858–1922), publisher and member of the state parliament
- Joseph Kürschner (1853–1902), initiator and director of the Reuter Wagner Museum
- Rudolf Mauersberger (1889–1971), composer and choir director, founder of the Eisenach Bach Choir
- Eduard Mittenzwey (1843–1936), lawyer and district court president
- Hermann Nebe (1877–1961), writer and journalist
- Maria Pawlowna (1786–1859), daughter of the Russian tsar, wife of Grand Duke Karl Friedrich
- Christian Peip (1843–1922), cartographer and draftsman, first publisher of postcards for the city of Eisenach
- Herbert Peter (1926–2010), Thuringian regional church music director, lecturer at the Thuringian church music school in Eisenach
- Johannes Petzold (1912–1985), church musician and composer
- Zacharias Prueschenck von Lindenhofen (1610–1678), Privy Councilor, Minister, State Director in Eisenach, Professor of Law at the University of Jena
- Max Raebel (1874–1946), composer, musician and painter
- Nikolaus Rebhan (1571–1626), theologian, chronicler and ducal advisor.
- Emmy von Rhoden (1829–1885), writer and author of young books
- Wilhelm Rinkens (1879–1933), musician and composer
- Eduard Sältzer (1811–1880), architect and brick manufacturer, author of development plans for the Eisenacher Südstadt
- Wilhelm Sältzer (1779–1853), Grand Ducal Building Councilor, architect and site manager for the reconstruction of the Wartburg
- Martin Sasse (1890–1942), pastor and Protestant regional bishop of Thuringia
- Ferdinand Senft (1810–1893), forest scientist and botanist
- Johann Kaspar Steube (1747–1795), shoemaker, soldier, language teacher and writer
- Anton von Steuben (1858–1928), Prussian officer
- Kaspar von Stieler (1632–1707), linguist and scholar
- Hans-Joachim Ursinus (* 1945), 1974–92 coach of the handball team at BSG Motor Eisenach and ThSV Eisenach
- Walther von der Vogelweide (≈ 1170–1230), important poet of the Middle Ages
- Gustav Wittich (1783–1857), senior consortium director and chancellor in the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach
literature
- Urania cultural and educational association Gotha eV (Ed.): Eisenacher personalities . A biographical lexicon. RhinoVerlag, Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-932081-45-5 .