List of personalities of the city of Meiningen

These lists contain personalities born in Meiningen as well as those who worked in Meiningen, but were born elsewhere. The lists do not claim to be complete

Sons and daughters of the city of Meiningen

Until 1800

• Andreas Franckenberger (1536–1590), historian and rhetorician .
• Samuel Steurlin (1655–1725), physician and natural scientist.
• Johann Kaspar Wetzel (1691–1755), Protestant theologian, hymnologist and hymn poet.
• Johann Georg Walch (1693–1775), philosopher.
• Gottlieb Friedrich Bach (1714–1785), musician and painter.
• Christian Hartmann Samuel von Gatzert (1739–1807), district president in Darmstadt
• Johann Georg Otto (1744–1829), bailiff in Schalkau and Privy Councilor.
• Johann Philipp Bach (1752–1846), musician and painter.
• Theodor Gottlieb Carl Keyßner (1757–1837), Protestant clergyman and educator
• Johann Heinrich Schröder (1757–1812), portrait painter.
• Albrecht Anton Adolph Hofmann (1758–1837), lawyer and civil servant in Coburg.
• Johann Konrad Schaubach (1764–1849), astronomer and high school principal.
• Jacob Friedrich Georg Emmrich (1766–1839), lawyer and professor at the University of Altdorf
• Friedrich Jahn (1766–1813), physician.
• Johann Andreas Schaubach (1766–1844), architect and building inspector from Sachsen-Meiningen .
• Ludwig Philipp Christian von Türcke (1772–1829), lawyer.
• Ludwig von Wolzüge (1773–1845), infantry general and diplomat.
• Georg Karl Friedrich Emmrich (1773–1837), court preacher and historian.
• Wilhelm von Türk (1774–1846), educator.
• Adelheid von Sachsen-Meiningen (1792–1849), Meininger Princess, 1830–1837 British Queen.
• Moritz Heinrich Romberg (1795–1873), neurologist.
• Rudolph von Wechmar (1800–1861), Minister of State in Saxony-Meiningen.
• Bernhard II (1800–1882), Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

1801 to 1850

• Ferdinand Jahn (1804–1859), physician and medical historian
• August Wilhelm Döbner (1805–1871), architect of historicism , a. a. Landsberg Castle .
• Eduard Krell (1805–1879), Lord Mayor of Meiningen.
• Franz Jahn (1806–1867), pharmacist and fruit growing scientist.
• Traugott Märcker (1811–1874), historian and archivist
• Carl von Schwendler (1812–1880) lawyer, minister of state, member of the Reichstag.
• Ludwig Köhler (1819–1864), writer
• August Schleicher (1821–1868), linguist.
• Duke Georg II. (1826–1914), he reformed the directing theater.
• Hermann Peter (1837–1914), philologist and high school teacher.
• Auguste von Sachsen-Meiningen (1843–1919), nobleman.
• Karl Baumbach (1844–1896), politician, member of the Reichstag.
• Friedrich Trinks (1844–1930), State Councilor in Saxony-Meiningen.

1851 to 1900

• Bernhard III. von Sachsen-Meiningen (1851–1928), philologist and Prussian field marshal.
• Max Paul Otto Hofmann (1854–1918), Prussian infantry general.
• Leopold Ambronn (1854–1930), astronomer.
• Max Paul Otto Hofmann (1854–1918), Prussian infantry general
• Hermann Ambronn (1856–1927), botanist, physicist, professor at the Universities of Leipzig and Jena.
• Franz Holper (1862–1935), painter and architect.
• Friedrich Grützmacher (1866–1919), cellist.
• Karl Behlert (1870–1946), master builder and architect, numerous buildings shape today's cityscape.
• Karl Zeiss (1871–1924), dramaturge and director.
• Eugen Nesper (1879–1961), high-frequency technician and writer.
• Fritz Koch (1880–1968), administrative lawyer and cultural politician.
• Frydel Fredy (1882–1965), actress.
• Elisabeth Marschall (1886–1947), head nurse in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.
• Paul Hildebrandt (1889–1948), union official, local politician (USPD / SPD / SED) and prisoner in Buchenwald concentration camp.
• Peretz Bernstein (1890–1971), Israeli politician.
• Kurt Erich Meurer (1891–1962), poet and translator.
• Hermann Wandersleb (1895–1977), German lawyer, civil servant and politician.

1901 to 1950

• Fritz Diez (1901–1979), actor, director and theater manager.
• Otto Nippold (1902–1940), deputy NSDAP Gauleiter in Munich-Upper Bavaria and a member of the Reichstag
• Wilhelm Engel (1905–1964), Thuringian and Franconian regional historian.
• Theodor Oberländer (1905–1998), Member of the Bundestag, Federal Minister of Displacement.
• Rudolf Rausch (1906–1984), youth functionary (SAJ / Rote Falken), resistance fighter against National Socialism and head of the Thuringian state police.
• Fritz Schulz-Reichel (1912–1990), musician and pianist who became known as Schräger Otto or Crazy Otto .
• Marieluise Claudius (1912–1941), actress.
• Ralph Lutz (1915–1993), civil engineer, port construction and senate construction director in Bremen.
• Werner Hofmann (1922–1969), sociologist and economist .
• Hans Geupel (1923–2000), track and field athlete and sports educator.
• Arne Benary (1929–1971), economist, representative of the New Economic System in the GDR.
• Kurt Wawrzik (1929–2010), trade unionist and politician (CDU), member of the Bundestag and MEP.
• Irmgard Düren (1930–2004), actress and presenter of GDR television.
• Paul Oestreicher (* 1931), canon of Coventry Cathedral .
• Karl-Heinz Fischer (1934–1971), victim on the inner-German border.
• Klaus Fischer (1934–2009), photographer and book author.
• Friedrich-Ernst Prince of Saxony-Meiningen, Duke of Saxony (1935–2004), founder of the Board of Trustees of Meiningen, City of Art.
• Bernhard Opitz (* 1936), doctor, synodal, politician (DFP, FWU), member of the People's Chamber.
• Christine Krohn (* 1936), lawyer, judge at the Federal Court of Justice 1980–2001.
• Peter Damm (* 1937), horn player.
• Klaus-Peter Thiele (1940–2011), actor (leading role in The Adventures of Werner Holt ).
• Dietrich von Gumppenberg (* 1941), politician and entrepreneur.
• Günther Krug (* 1942), politician (SPD), member of the House of Representatives in Berlin.
• Runhild Laubmann (* 1944), painter.
• Bernd Opinioner (* 1944), songwriter.
• Hans-Volker Mixsa (1944-2016), sculptor.
• Ute Scheffler (* 1944), member of the state parliament.
• Ulf-Jürgen Wagner (* 1944), film actor and voice actor.
• Klaus-Jörg Ruhl (* 1945), historian.

From 1951

• Peter Jacobi (* 1951), writer and musician.
• Michael Bartsch (* 1953), journalist and author.
• Hans-Jürgen Pabst (1954–2018), actor.
• Lutz Otto (1954-2010), soccer player in the GDR league.
• Cornelia Heyse (* 1957), actress.
• Matthias Brenner (* 1957), actor ( Vaya con Dios , The Lives of Others ) and theater director.
• Michael-Egidius Luthardt (* 1957), politician (Die Linke) in the Brandenburg state parliament.
• Ralf Böhme (* 1963), music producer and composer.
• Christian Bach (* 1979), track cyclist, German champion and runner-up world champion.
• Ivonne Hartmann (* 1981), soccer player, winner of the UEFA Women's Champions League 2013 and 2014.
• Antonia Kraus (* 1995), author of books and radio plays.

People who worked in Meiningen

Until 1800

• Paul Crusius (1525–1572), Protestant theologian, mathematician and historian.
• Johann Caspar Hartung (1622–1725), German builder .
• Duke Bernhard I (1649–1706), First Duke of Saxony-Meiningen .
• Georg Caspar Schürmann (1672–1751) singer (tenor) and Baroque composer, court conductor of the Meiningen court orchestra .
• Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731), composer.
• Wilhelm Friedrich Hermann Reinwald (1737–1815), librarian and linguist, brother-in-law of Friedrich Schiller.
• Johann Ludwig Heim (1741–1819), theologian , mineralogist and geologist.
• Johann Georg Pfranger (1745–1790), court preacher in Meiningen and writer.
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), poet, playwright and privy councilor, was a representative of Sachsen-Weimar in 1780 and 1782, often on working visits lasting several days and again in 1815 privately in Meiningen.
• Christian Ferdinand von Könitz (1756–1832), Minister of State, founded the manor and today's district of Jerusalem (Meiningen) .
• Johann Matthäus Bechstein (1757–1822) natural scientist, forest scientist and ornithologist, worked in the Drei 30acker district.
• Carl Gottlob Cramer (1758–1817), writer and forest adviser.
• Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), poet and dramatist, during his 1782-1783 asylum in Bauerbach frequent guest in Meiningen with his future brother and court librarian Reinwald, took the court library, received in 1790 from Duke George I. the title of Councilor .
• Georg I (1761–1803), Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.
• Jean Paul (1763–1825), writer, lived in Meiningen from 1801 to 1803 and created the " Titan " here.
• Johann Friedrich Anton Fleischmann (1766–1798), composer and court conductor.
• Georg Karl Wilhelm Philipp von Donop (1767–1845), Chancellor and District President in the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen and historian.
• Johann Ernst Wagner (1769–1812), writer, cabinet secretary to Dukes Georg I and Bernhard II, buried in the English Garden .
• Friedrich Mosengeil (1773–1839), stenographer , is considered one of the inventors of the German shorthand , worked in Meiningen as a prince educator and senior consistorial councilor.
• Friedrich Krafft (1777–1857), District President in the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen
• Carl Alexander Heideloff (1789–1865), architect , co-builder of Landsberg Castle and the Ducal Crypt Chapel .
• Bodo von Mauderode (1791–1882), castle captain, honorary citizen.
• Carl Wagner (1796–1867), painter.
• Constantin Ackermann (1799–1877), general superintendent
• Carl Theodor Ottmer (1800–1843), architect and court builder, built the first Meiningen court theater .
• Friedrich August Stüler (1800–1865), master builder, built the ducal stables in Meiningen .

1801 to 1850

• Ludwig Bechstein (1801–1860), fairy tale collector and writer, was from 1831 to 1860 ducal cabinet librarian and archivist in Meiningen.
• Adolph von Minutoli (1802–1848), court marshal .
• Moritz Seebeck (1805–1884), grammar school director and teacher.
• Karl Ludwig Peter (1808–1893), director at the Bernhardinum high school .
• Paulus Motz (1817–1904), dialect poet and forester in the districts of Henneberg and Drei 30acker .
• Louis Ehlert (1825–1884), composer and music critic.
• Adolf Emil Büchner (1826–1908), conductor, court music director from 1865 to 1880.
• Otto Hoppe (architect) (1829–1891), senior building officer , led the renovation of the town church.
• Hans von Bülow (1830–1894), conductor and composer, court conductor from 1880 to 1885.
• Arnold Güldenpfennig (1830–1908), architect, built the first Catholic Church, the Immaculate Conception of Mary , in 1880/81 .
• Andreas Müller (1831–1901), fresco artist and history painter.
• Rudolf von Ziller (1832–1912), Mayor of Meiningen and Minister of State.
• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), composer and conductor, was a close friend of Bülow and the ducal house from 1881 to 1896, often in Meiningen and worked closely with the Meiningen court orchestra.
• Ludwig Chronegk (1837–1891), actor, director and artistic director , was engaged at the Meininger Hoftheater from 1866 to 1891.
• Ellen Franz (1839–1923), Helene Freifrau von Heldburg, pianist and actress, 3rd wife of Duke Georg II.
• Rudolf Baumbach (1840–1905), librarian and councilor, was one of the most popular authors of the 1880s and lived in the city from 1842 to 1905 with interruptions.
• Ludwig Barnay (1842–1924), actor at the court theater and later theater director.
• Karl Schaller (1846–1922), Mayor of Meiningen and Minister of State.
• Friedrich Roth (pastor) (1847–1927), Catholic pastor, had the Catholic Church built.
• Adolf Braun (1847–1914), lawyer, banker and director at Deutsche Hypothekenbank Meiningen.
• Eduard Fritze (1849–1926), architect and member of the state parliament, built many buildings in Meiningen.
• Theodor Linschmann (1850–1940), clergyman and later library director in Meiningen.

1851 to 1900

• Gustav Strupp (1851–1918), banker , politician and industrialist, co-founder of the Bank for Thuringia.
• Hermann Pröscholdt (1852–1898), geologist and teacher at the secondary school in Meiningen.
• Carl Kiesewetter (1854–1895), occultist, theosophist and author.
• Max Grube (1854–1934), actor, theater director and writer.
• Fritz Steinbach (1855–1916), Brahms conductor and court music director from 1986 to 1903, initiated three regional music festivals.
• Richard Mühlfeld (1856–1907), the best known and most successful German clarinetist of his time.
• Herman Bang (1857–1912), Danish writer, lived and worked briefly in Meiningen.
• Josef Kainz (1858–1910), Austrian actor , engagement at Meininger Hoftheater from 1877 to 1880.
• Wilhelm Berger (1861–1911), conductor, court conductor from 1903 to 1911.
• Adele Sandrock (1863–1937), actress at the court theater 1879/80.
• Richard Strauss (1864–1949), conductor, court music director from 1885 to 1886.
• Hermann Keßler (1866–1951), Mayor of Meiningen.
• Ida Hohenemser (1866–1920), Montessori teacher and philanthropist.
• Albert Bassermann (1867–1952), actor at the court theater from 1890 to 1894.
• Felix von Kraus (1870–1937), singer and university professor, was a ducal chamber singer in Meiningen.
• Gertrud Eysoldt (1870–1955), actress at the court theater 1890/91 and 1900–1902.
• Max Reger (1873–1916), conductor and composer, was court conductor from 1911 to 1914.
• Paul Albert Glaeser-Wilken (1874–1942), director and actor, was engaged several times at the Meininger Theater in the 1920s.
• Erich Ziegel (1876–1950), actor, director and artistic director.
• Heinrich Beck (1878–1937), German engineer .
• Gorch Fock (1880–1916), real name: Johann Wilhelm Kinau, writer, worked here from 1899 to 1902 as a cantorist.
• Karl Theodor Paulke (1881–1938), musician and music historian.
• Friedrich Sorge (1885–1945), Mayor of Meiningen.
• Karl Korsch (1886–1961), philosopher , attended the Meiningen high school Bernhardinum , was a member of the workers 'and soldiers' council in Meiningen in 1918 .
• Bruno Rahn (1887–1927), film director, actor and producer.
• Peretz Bernstein (1890–1971), Israeli politician, born Friedrich Bernstein in Meiningen.
• Friedrich Forster (1895–1958), actor.
• Werner Heinrich von Hacht (1898–1962), mayor and district administrator in Meiningen.

1901 to 1950

• Günter Raphael (1903–1960), composer, lived and worked from 1934 to 1944 in Meiningen.
• Elisabeth Schumacher (1904–1942), graphic artist and resistance fighter for the Red Orchestra , lived in Meiningen from 1915 to 1921.
• Elisabeth Grümmer (1911–1986), opera singer, lived in Meiningen from 1919 to 1940, attended the Academy of Dramatic Art here and was employed at the Meiningen Theater.
• Karl Ebert (1916–1974), theologian and auxiliary bishop .
• Johanna König (1921–2009), actress at the Landestheater Meiningen 1946/47.
• Gotthold Gloger (1924–2001), writer and painter.
• Ekkehard Schwartz (1926-2005), forest scientist, spent his childhood and youth in Meiningen, where he attended the Bernhardinum high school .
• Fritz Bennewitz (1926–1995), German theater director, was artistic director at the Meininger Theater from 1955 to 1960.
• Peter Borgelt (1927–1994), actor at the Meininger Theater.
• Karin Hempel-Soos (1939–2009), German writer , also uses the pseudonym Katherina Koslowsky . She grew up in Meiningen and was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class.
• Johannes Mötsch (* 1949), archivist and historian (Thuringian State Archives).
• Christine Mielitz (* 1949), general manager and director.

From 1951

• Ulrich Burkhardt (1951–1997), dramaturge and artistic director.
• Joachim Kaps (* 1952), actor and voice actor.
• Joachim Koch (* 1952), lawyer, politician and member of the Thuringian state parliament.
• Regina Feldmann (* 1953), specialist doctor and board member of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV).
• Ansgar Haag (* 1955), dramaturge, director and artistic director.
• Jo Fabian (* 1960), director and author.
• Volker Wachter (* 1960), specialist archivist at the Thuringian State Archives Meiningen since 1987.
• Kristina Kühnbaum-Schmidt (* 1964), regional and state bishop.
• Jörg Hartmann (* 1969), actor.
• Elīna Garanča (* 1976), opera singer, was engaged at the Meiningen Theater from 1998 to 2001.
• Johannes Thielmann (* 1981), film producer, director and author, childhood in Meiningen, later staging at the Meininger Theater.

See also

• List of honorary citizens of Meiningen
• List of Mayors of Meiningen
• List of well-known actors at the Meininger Theater