The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Meiningen

MEININGEN, mī'nĭng-ĕn, Germany, the capital of the small Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, in a narrow, well-wooded valley, on the Werra, 40 miles southeast of Erfurt. It is an attractive modern town with regular and handsome streets, having been practically rebuilt since the disastrous fire in 1874 which destroyed the old town. The principal buildings are the new town-house and the ducal palace with a church, private and public library of 55,000 volumes, picture gallery, museum, etc., attached. The stock company of the local theatre which for 16 years enjoyed a European reputation for the excellence of its acting and staging, was dissolved in 1890. The industries are only of domestic importance and include brewing, woolen and cotton-weaving. Pop. 17,186.