Suhl

Suhl, a town of Germany, in the province of Prussian Saxony, picturesquely situated on the Lauter, on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest, 62 m. N.E. of Meiningen and 29 m. S.W. of Erfurt by rail. Pop. (1905), 13,814. The armourers of Suhl are mentioned as early as the 9th century, but they enjoyed their highest vogue from 1550 to 1634. The knights of south Germany especially prized the swords and armour of this town, and many of the weapons used in campaigns against the Turks and in the Seven Years' War are said to have been manufactured at Suhl. It has suffered considerably in modern times from the competition of other towns in this industry, especially since the introduction of the breech-loading rifle. It still contains, however, large factories for firearms military and sporting, and side arms, besides ironworks, machine-works, potteries and tanneries. The once considerable manufacture of fustian has declined. A brine spring (Soolquelle) at the foot of the neighbouring Domberg is said to have given name to the town.

Suhl, which obtained civic rights in 1527, belonged to the principality of Henneberg, and formed part of the possessions of the kingdom of Saxony assigned to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

See Werther, Chronik der Stadt Suhl (2 vols., Suhl, 1846-1847).