Thuringia emerged as a central transit country since in prehistoric times while the city is culturally connected to the transnational region of Franconia.
Meiningen [mī´ning-ẹn] is the cultural, judicial and financial hub of Southern Thuringia. The core city has a compact urban cityscape, surrounded by wooded hills and mountains with predominantly agricultural valleys and plains and hosts the state theatre, justice center, state archives, bank buildings and museums.
Zoom to the center of any map of Germany and you end up close to Meiningen. European maps work similarly.
Scientific trivia
The physicist and science journalist R. G. Yogeshwar — famous in the German-speaking area for his science documentary Quarks — once went on a quest to find the ideal location for a new capital city: Based on data-driven research conducted by spatial planners at the University of Kaiserslautern, Meiningen qualifies for the most attractive city in Germany by these geoscientific criteria:
— The city is centrally located
— outside of forests and impassable mountains
— at the (Werra) river valley
— the quality of soil and natural resources nearby is high
— weather conditions are pleasant
— leisure facilities are plentiful
Transit to Meiningen typically follows routes by main continental railway lines, rapid transit trains, highway, or — more leisurely — by long-distance hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and water hiking.