The convex side rests upon the duchy of Coburg and is in part bounded by Bavaria, while the concave side, turned towards the north, contains portions of four other Thuringian states and Prussia between its horns, which are 46 m.
The surface on the whole is hilly and is partly occupied by offshoots of the Thuringian Forest; the highest summits are found in the eastern half, where the Kieferle reaches 2849 ft.
A certain Conrad Schmidt placed himself at the head of a community of Thuringian flagellants, who took the name of Brethren of the Cross.
About 1120 another Giso, count of Gudensberg, secured possession of the lands of the Werners; on his death in 1137 his daughter and heiress, Hedwig, married Louis, landgrave of Thuringia; and from this date until 1247, when the Thuringian ruling family became extinct, Hesse formed part of Thuringia.
A vast amount of traffic is directed to Berlin, by means of the Havel-Spree system of canals, to the Thuringian states and the Prussian province of Saxony, to the kingdom of Saxony and Bohemia, and to the various riverine states and provinces of the lower and middle Elbe.