Wondering where the largest industry area of Thuringia is located? It is in the Ilm-Kreis. The Ilm-Kreis is a district in Thuringia. It is named after the river Ilm. The river flows through the district from southwest to northeast. The district seat is Arnstadt.
The Ilm-Kreis is south of Erfurt. It stretches from the A4 in the north to the Rennsteig in the Thuringian Forest in the south. The Erfurter Kreuz is the largest industry area in Thuringia. It is in the north of Arnstadt. The Ilm-Kreis is also home to the Ilmenau University of Technology.
The Ilm-Kreis was formed in 1994. It was created by merging the Arnstadt and Ilmenau districts. This area is similar to the Arnstadt district that existed between 1922 and 1952. Over 60% of the Ilm-Kreis population lives in Arnstadt and Ilmenau. The Ilm-Kreis is part of central Thuringia. It has good infrastructure with two federal highways. Its central location near Erfurt helps the Ilm-Kreis. It is a top-ranked eastern German district for economic development.
The Ilm-Kreis is in the central part of Thuringia. It is surrounded by other Thuringian districts. Erfurt is to the north. Weimarer Land is to the northeast. Saalfeld-Rudolstadt is to the east. Hildburghausen is to the south. Suhl is also to the south. Schmalkalden-Meiningen is to the southwest. Gotha is to the west.
The Ilm-Kreis has three topographic zones. The northeast is the southern edge of the Thuringian Basin. This area has little forest. It is mainly used for agriculture. The lowest point in the district is here. It is 235 meters above sea level. It is where the Gera River enters Erfurt.
The central and eastern areas are hilly. They range from 250 to 600 meters above sea level. The Ilm, Gera, and Wilde Weiße rivers have carved valleys up to 300 meters deep. This area is used for agriculture or forestry. There are smaller mountain ranges like the Reinsberge.
The southern third of the Ilm-Kreis includes the Thuringian Forest. The Thuringian Slate Mountains are in the far southeast. Most of the Ilm-Kreis is north of the Rennsteig. The Thuringian Forest is rugged in the southwest. It flattens out to the southeast. The Neustadt area has highlands. The west has mountain peaks. This marks the transition to the Thuringian Slate Mountains.
Neustadt am Rennsteig is the highest town in the Ilm-Kreis. It is 800 meters above sea level. Frauenwald is 750 meters above sea level.
About 43% of the Ilm-Kreis is forested. About 44% is used for agriculture. The rest is water, settlements, roads, and other areas.
The main rivers in the Ilm-Kreis are the Ilm and the Gera. Most other rivers and streams flow into these two rivers. The southern part of the district is in the Schwarza River basin. This river partly forms the southeastern border with Saalfeld-Rudolstadt. All these rivers drain into the Elbe River. Some smaller streams south of the Rennsteig drain into the Werra River and the Weser River.
The Ilm-Kreis has few natural lakes. These are in the Gehren wetland. They are also in the Ilmenau pond area and near Rudisleben. The Heyda reservoir is the largest body of water. It is used for irrigation. The Lütschen reservoir was built for steam locomotives. Today, it is mainly used for tourism.
The Ilm-Kreis has significant climate differences. These differences result from the surrounding mountains. There is a clear north-south gradient in temperature and precipitation. The annual average temperature is about 8 °C in the north. It is about 4 °C in the Thuringian Forest peaks.
Annual precipitation varies greatly. The peaks receive about 1200 mm of precipitation. This decreases to about 450 mm annually in the north. This northern area is one of the driest in Germany. The average annual sunshine is between 1400 hours in the mountains and 1600 hours in the north.
The climate has changed in recent decades. The effects vary regionally. The average temperature increased by about 0.8 K in the north from 1951 to 2000. It only increased by about 0.4 K in the mountains. Precipitation trends also differ. The annual precipitation increased by up to 20% in the mountains. Precipitation decreased slightly at the edge of the Thuringian Basin. Overall, the Ilm-Kreis is trending towards wetter winters and drier, warmer summers.
Some small streams in the Thuringian Forest carry large amounts of water during the February/March snowmelt. This often leads to flooding. This is especially true in the Ilm valley between Gräfinau-Angstedt and Stadtilm. The valley has a slight gradient. There are sufficient floodplains. Devastating floods are rare in the Ilm-Kreis. The rivers are not straightened between towns. There are flood surfaces everywhere.