Meininger barracks
The city of Meiningen was an important military location in what is now southern Thuringia . Due to its function as the capital and residence town, the first military barracks for the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen were built at the beginning of the 18th century . Further barracks followed in the 19th century. In the 1930s, two more barracks were built as part of the armament of the Wehrmacht . There were thus a total of six barracks in the urban area of Meiningen. Meiningen's era as a garrison town ended in 1991 with the withdrawal of the last units of the Soviet Army .
Upper barracks
( 50 ° 33 ′ 52 ″ N , 10 ° 24 ′ 51 ″ E )
The first barracks were built soon after the founding of the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen in 1718. In front of the "Upper Gate" in the south of the royal seat , the ducal government built the Upper Barracks for the "Meininger Contingent" of the Thuringian armed forces, which were jointly owned by the Thuringian Duke - and principalities were formed. After the contingent moved out, the "Herberge zur neue Heimat" association was established in the barracks building in 1882. In 1981 the city had the building demolished because it was in disrepair. In their place there is now a green area.
New barracks
( 50 ° 34 ′ 30 ″ N , 10 ° 24 ′ 58 ″ E )
Due to the constant increase in the Meiningen contingent, the upper barracks became too small and another barracks had to be set up. In 1844, for example, the ducal government converted the former “Thorbecksche Tabakfabrik” into the new barracks . These barracks were located at the beginning of Leipziger Strasse on a site that is now occupied by the former Reichsbank and the theater's set house . Even after 20 years of use, these barracks no longer met the demands of the troops. So from 1865 a new barracks was built, which was later called the main or city barracks. The new barracks stood empty after the Meiningen contingent had been transferred to Hildburghausen in 1866 and was demolished in 1880.
Main barracks
( 50 ° 34 ′ 41 ″ N , 10 ° 25 ′ 11 ″ E )
The main barracks , also known as the city barracks , had a very eventful history . It was built from 1865 to 1867 by senior building officer Otto Hoppe for the Meiningen contingent of around 1,700 men. It was at the end of Lindenallee on what was then the northern outskirts of the city. Today this area is in the middle of the city. Due to the German War in 1866, however, the planned use changed. The Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen under Duke Bernhard II , who was also Commander-in-Chief of the Meiningen troops, sided with the Austrians , who ultimately lost the war. Meiningen was then occupied by two battalions of the Prussian army in August 1866 . The Meiningen contingent, which was in action near Mainz at the time, hurried back to Meiningen, but was moved to the new location in Hildburghausen at short notice due to the new events. Prussia then forced the duke to abdicate in order to maintain an independent duchy of Saxony-Meiningen. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 2nd Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 32 then moved into the new main barracks . The new Duke George II became the commander in chief . This regiment remained stationed in these barracks until its demobilization in December 1918.
In 1873/73 the regiment built the first outbuildings, including a hospital . In 1921 the 1st Battalion of the 14th Infantry Regiment of the newly founded Reichswehr moved into the barracks. This resulted in the 1st and 2nd Battalion of the Meiningen Infantry Regiment in 1934, which was renamed the 2nd Rifle Regiment in October 1935 and continued to be the 2nd Panzer Division of the IX. Army corps of the Wehrmacht was subordinated. The 2nd Battalion moved into the newly built → Drachenberg barracks in 1936. The 2nd Rifle Regiment was relocated to Austria in 1938 and at the end of 1938 the Wehrmacht quartered the 12th Rifle Regiment of the 4th Panzer Division formed from Austrian troops in the main barracks .
During the Second World War , the Wehrmacht first stationed the 81st Rifle Replacement Regiment and, from 1943, the 6th Panzer Grenadier Replacement Battalion, which was disbanded in 1944. Until the end of the war, the main barracks housed the tank reconnaissance training unit No. 9 with a department for officer applicants . After Meiningen was encircled on April 3, 1945 by the 11th Panzer Division of the US Army , the armored reconnaissance unit used a gap south of the city that had been created by the rapid advance of the Americans to move towards Nuremberg.
After the US troops withdrew at the beginning of July 1945, the 23rd Panzer Battalion, the 11th Reconnaissance Battalion and part of the 489th Anti-Tank Department of the 8th Guard Army of the Red Army (from 1946 Soviet Army ) moved into the main barracks. The area of the military hospital was separated from the rest of the barracks and used from then on as a civilian hospital. The Soviet Army later had more new buildings built, including a block of flats for officers and their families. The Soviet Army remained in the barracks for over 40 years until it withdrew in 1991. The main barracks then stood empty for a few years.
In 1993 the state of Thuringia acquired 3 hectares of the 5.2 hectare barracks area and had a modern justice center and a police station built here by 2000 . The large main building was rebuilt and integrated into the justice center. The staff building now serves as a police station in combination with a new building. The other buildings were demolished except for the casino building , which is being converted into a senior citizens' residence. On the south-western part of the barracks area, the Deutsche Bundesbank built a new branch building for the Land Central Bank Meiningen with residential buildings by 2000 . From 2012, a residential area was built next to the police station on the remaining part of the property.
North Barracks
( 50 ° 35 ′ 3 ″ N , 10 ° 24 ′ 55 ″ E )
For the III. Battalion of the 2nd Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 32, which was still stationed in Kassel until 1886 , the Prussian army built the north barracks in Leipziger Strasse in 1885/86 . It consisted of two large crew buildings, an officers' building and several farm buildings. From 1919 to 1933 the barracks were used for civil living purposes. After the seizure of power of the National Socialists this reactivated the northern barracks for the army . Some new buildings were built for this purpose. After 1945 the city used the team and officer buildings again as civilian houses. The GDR state converted the remaining facilities into a district supply warehouse (BVL) for military units. After the political change in 1990, a control center and a supermarket were built in place of the BVL for Telekom. The northern team building fell victim to the wrecking ball in 1994 because of the construction of a large intersection. The remaining buildings, which had meanwhile been used as a home for asylum seekers , had to give way in 2007 in favor of another shopping center. This means that the north barracks have completely disappeared from the cityscape.
Drachenberg barracks
( 50 ° 35 ′ 5 ″ N , 10 ° 25 ′ 31 ″ E )
After the Defense Act of March 16, 1935 came into force, the Drachenberg barracks were built up from the ground in day and night work within a few months . The largest barracks complex in the city was built with eight team and staff buildings, as well as a workshop building and vehicle hangar. Moving into the barracks began on January 5, 1936. The 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht moved into the barracks. The entire 2nd Rifle Regiment was transferred to Austria at the beginning of March 1938. In November 1938 a battalion from Rifle Regiment 12 of the 4th Panzer Division was quartered here. After the start of the war and the regiment's subsequent front-line deployment, the motorcyclist replacement battalion 1 and training units used the barracks.
From August 23, 1943, the Wehrmacht High Command relocated part of the Wehrmacht Information Center (WASt) and the Wehrmacht Loss System (WVW) to the Drachenberg barracks in Meiningen and the other part to Saalfeld due to the bombing of Berlin . Around 1400 officers, men and civil servants under the command of Lieutenant Colonel von Wittig administered the Wehrmacht's loss reports from all over the world and the statistics on prisoners of war in Meiningen. On March 31, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel von Wittig released almost all soldiers subordinate to him from the Wehrmacht in order to save them from captivity . In this way he also protected the important documents from possible hostilities. After Meiningen was taken by American troops on April 5, 1945, a special unit of the US Army took over the WASt in the Drachenberg barracks. It was continued from April 12th under the command of the American military administration and the Chief of Staff Otto Schlagk until July 1st, 1945. The US Army then moved most of the documents to Fürstenhagen near Kassel . The prisoner of war index for Italy and the Eastern European countries remained under the supervision of the SMAD in the barracks until 1946 and was administered by the remaining employees of the office and then relocated to Weimar .
Initially released for demolition in 1946, the Drachenberg barracks experienced a new military use from 1947 onwards due to the beginning of the division of Germany . After the arrival of the border police, the state of Thuringia stationed a unit of the riot police here . In the GDR era, the 13th VP readiness " Magnus Poser " was in the western part of the barracks until 1990 and the headquarters company, the intelligence company and the III. Battalion of the 9th Border Regiment " Konrad Blenkle ".
After the political change in 1991, the Thuringian police took over the Drachenberg barracks and initially set up a training institute here. Until the Meiningen Justice Center was completed in 2000, the Police Inspectorate (PI) and the Meiningen public prosecutor were housed in one block. In 1994 the Police College was added and the Thuringian Police Education Center was established. Since then, the former barracks has been expanded into a modern campus for around 500 students. A three-field sports hall with an integrated indoor shooting range, a cafeteria, an auditorium and several crime scene worlds for practical training have been built as new structures since 2000.
Barbarakaserne
( 50 ° 35 ′ 35 ″ N , 10 ° 25 ′ 20 ″ E )
Shortly after the construction of the Drachenberg barracks, in 1936 the Wehrmacht in Meiningen received another barracks, the Barbarakaserne, for the accommodation of units of the 74th Artillery Regiment of the 2nd Panzer Division. It was located on Utendorfer Strasse in what is now Jerusalem . Six four-storey team and staff buildings were built, as well as vehicle hangars and workshop buildings. The barracks were named after the patron saint of the artillerymen , Saint Barbara . After the relocation of the 74th Artillery Regiment to Austria in 1938, the staff and the 1st Division of the 103rd Artillery Regiment of the 4th Panzer Division moved here . From 1939 to 1945 the barracks served the Wehrmacht as a military hospital and as an alternative location for the "Heereszeugamt Kassel".
After the city was taken over by the Red Army in July 1945, the 117th Guards MotSchützen Regiment of the 39th Guards MotSchützen Division of the 8th Guards Army occupied the barracks. Later, the 519th came antiaircraft - rocket department of the 18th missile air defense - Brigadier added. The Barbarakaserne was occupied by the Soviet Army until the withdrawal in August 1991 . After that the barracks stood empty. The eastern part with the vehicle halls was completely removed from 1995, including soil contamination , and converted into a residential area. A few years later, a developer tore down two team buildings and the staff building in the south of the barracks to make room for a residential complex. The remaining three team buildings were demolished in 2011 after years of dilapidation and this site has also been held as future residential building land since then.
literature
- Dieter Zeigert: Military buildings in Thuringia. A catalog of the barracks buildings with a detailed description of the military-historical circumstances in Thuringia since the German military constitution of 1821 . Ed .: Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology. Verlag Bildung + Wissen, Bad Homburg / Leipzig 1997, ISBN 3-927879-94-0 , p. 65-68, 238-256 .
- Peter Schmidt-Raßmann: Meiningen as it used to be. Wartberg Verlag, 1992, ISBN 3-925277-82-X .
- Wilhelm Pocher: White flags over Meiningen. Meiningen City Archives, 2000.
- Rüdiger Overmans : German military losses in World War II. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-4862002-8-7 .
- Kuratorium Meiningen (Hrsg.): Lexicon for the history of the city of Meiningen. Bielsteinverlag, Meiningen 2008, ISBN 978-3-9809504-4-2 .