RUDOLSTADT capital of the German principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, and chief residence of the prince, is situated on the left bank of the Saale, 18 miles due south of Weimar, in one of the most beautiful districts of Thuringia. The picturesque little town is a favourite summer watering-place, with pine baths, as well as a frequented tourist resort. Besides containing the Government buildings of the little principality, Rudolstadt is fairly well provided with schools and other institutions, including a library of 60,000 volumes. The residence of the prince is in the Heidecksburg, a palace on an eminence 200 feet above the Saale, rebuilt after a fire in 1735, and containing various show apartments. The Ludwigsburg, another palace within the town built in 1742, accommodates the natural history collections belonging to the prince. The principal church dates from the end of the 15th century. In the Anger, a tree-shaded public park between the town and the river, is the theatre. Various memorials in and near the town commemorate the visits of Schiller to the neighbourhood in 1787 and 1788. The industries of the district include the manufacture of porcelain and of dyestuffs, wool-spinning, and bell-founding. The population (4100 in 1817) was 8747 in 1880.

The name of Rudolstadt occurs in an inventory of the possessions of the abbey of Hcrsfeld in the year 800. After passing through the possession of the German emperor and of the rulers of Orlamiinde and AVeimar, it came into the hands of the dukes of Schwarzburg in 1355. Its town rights were confirmed in 1404; and since 1599 it has been the residence of the ruling house.