Schmalkalden [key], town (1994 pop. 16,096), Thuringia, central Germany. It has been a metalworking center since the Middle Ages, and its manufactures include tools, kitchen utensils, and machinery. Schmalkalden was chartered in the 13th cent., passed in 1583 to Hesse-Kassel, and, with it, passed to Prussia in 1866. In the town hall (built 1419) the Schmalkaldic League was founded in 1531. The inn where Luther drew up (1537) the Schmalkaldic Articles, outlining the Protestant viewpoint, has been restored. Other noteworthy structures in Schmalkalden include the Church of St. George (15th cent.) and parts of the town's medieval fortifications.
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