User Contributed Dictionary
Pronunciation
- [ˈdʒeːra]
Verb
geraAlternative forms
- dated gjöra
Verb
geraDerived terms
Alternative spellings
Etymology
Compare Spanish guerraNoun
geraSee also
Extensive Definition
Gera is the third largest city in the German
state of Thuringia after
Erfurt, the
Thuringian capital. It is situated in east Thuringia on the river
"White Elster" (literally the "White Magpie"), approximately 60
kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80
kilometers to the east of Erfurt. In 2006 Gera had a
population of approximately 102,000.
History
The name Gera was first mentioned in 995. From 1848 to 1918, Gera was the capital of the Reuss junior line principality. In 1920 the city became part of Thuringia (German: Thüringen). Large portions of the city were destroyed by aerial bombing in 1945. Until German reunification in 1990, the city belonged to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).Main sights
Sights in Gera include:- Town Hall (1576, Renaissance)
- Market Square with Simson-fountain
- Castle Osterstein (largely destroyed 1945)
- City Pharmacy
- Theater (1902)
- Villa Schulenburg, designed by Henry van de Velde
- St. Johannis church (Neo-Gothic)
- St. Salvator church (Baroque with Art Nouveau interior decoration)
- St. Marien church (Late Gothic)
- St. Trinitatis church (Late Gothic)
- Old beer cellars called "Geraer Höhler"
- Zoo Gera (since 1973)
Museums in Gera include:
- City Museum
- Otto Dix House
- Art Galley "Orangerie"
- Museum of Natural History ("Schreiber House", oldest building in the city)
- Museum for Applied Arts ("Ferber House")
In 2007 Gera, together with Ronneburg,
is venue of the Bundesgartenschau
(the federal horticultural show).
Transportation
In the eastern part of Gera lies the airfield Gera-Leumnitz. The nearest airport is Leipzig-Altenburg (approx. 40 km). The airport Leipzig-Halle with many international destinations is about 90 km north of Gera.Twin towns
- flagicon Germany Nuremberg, Germany
- flagicon France Saint-Denis, France
- flagicon Bulgaria Sliven, Bulgaria
- flagicon Czech Republic Plzeň, Czech Republic
- flagicon Finland Kuopio Finland
- flagicon Romania Timişoara, Romania
- flagicon Netherlands Arnhem, Netherlands
- flagicon Russia Rostov-on-Don, Russia
- flagicon USA Fort Wayne, United States
- flagicon Poland Skierniewice, Poland
- flagicon Russia Pskov, Russia
- flagicon Bosnia and Herzegovina Goražde, Bosnia
Notable natives
- Johann Heinrich Gottfried Koch, (1705-1775)
- Heinrich Gustav Beck, (1857-1933), Ministerpräsident of Saxony 1914-1918
- Otto Dix (1891-1969), artist
- Rudolf Paul, (1893-1978), President of Thuringia 1945-1947
- Karl Weschke, (1925-2005), painter
- Georg Buschner, (born 1925), head coach East Germany national football team
- Helga Königsdorf, (born 1938), mathematician and author
- Marlies Göhr, (born 1958), athlete
- Olaf Ludwig, (born 1960), racing cyclist
- Wolfgang Tiefensee, (born 1955), politician
- Heike Drechsler, (born 1964), athlete
- Jens Heppner, (born 1964), racing cyclist
External links
- Gera Official website of the city
References
gera in Bosnian: Gera
gera in Bulgarian: Гера
gera in Catalan: Gera
gera in Czech: Gera
gera in Danish: Gera
gera in German: Gera
gera in Estonian: Gera
gera in Spanish: Gera
gera in Esperanto: Gera
gera in French: Gera
gera in Upper Sorbian: Gera
gera in Croatian: Gera
gera in Ido: Gera
gera in Indonesian: Gera
gera in Italian: Gera
gera in Latin: Gerapolis
gera in Hungarian: Gera
gera in Dutch: Gera
gera in Japanese: ゲーラ
gera in Norwegian: Gera
gera in Norwegian Nynorsk: Gera
gera in Piemontese: Gera
gera in Polish: Gera
gera in Portuguese: Gera
gera in Romanian: Gera
gera in Russian: Гера (город в Германии)
gera in Albanian: Gera
gera in Simple English: Gera
gera in Slovak: Gera
gera in Serbian: Гера
gera in Finnish: Gera
gera in Swedish: Gera
gera in Vietnamese: Gera
gera in Turkish: Gera
gera in Volapük: Gera
gera in Chinese: 格拉