A visit to Ruhla - Home of Gebrüder Thiel

Today I got a chance to visit Ruhla, Germany, the hometown of Gebrüder Thiel, and the spiritual home of my Thiel Duplex 158 milling machine. According to the lathes.co.uk site the 158 was made in Leinfelden, near Stuttgart after Ruhla ended up on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain but I'm not going to get a chance to visit there unfortunately.
Ruhla is a beautiful little town in the Thuringia forest, it has a history in metalworking dating back to the fourteenth century as reflected in the town crest seen painted on one of the buildings and cast into the 650th aniverary sewer covers.

Attachment 375561 Attachment 375562

Except for an office building dating from 1929, which now houses a museum dedicated to the Thiel watch company, all of the buildings associated with the Thiel / Ruhla UMF factory have been demolished. Unfortunately I didn't have time to have a look through the museum but just visiting the town is something I'm glad I got to do.

The area is still involved in the machine tool industry because about ten minutes out of Ruhla on my way to Berlin I passed through the town of Seebeck and there on my right was a large Deckel Maho factory.

Attachment 375563

Thiel actually got merged into Maho then into the DMG group so I guess In a way they are still going strong in the region.
Cheers,
Greg.

Is the trip business or pleasure???? Any garage sales there?:D
Kryn

Hey Greg, did you take the trailer?

It's a family trip around Europe so we're only spending a night or two in each place and we were under time pressure to get to Berlin before check-in closed at the hostel we are staying in.
No garage sales but I've been told some places have markets which I hope might coincide with our visit.
I've visited a couple of tool shops and seen some really nice tools but still expensive, especially with the Aussie dollar in the toilet.
No need for a trailer yet Leigh but I'm keep you posted.
Cheers,
Greg.

I hope the family are enjoying the trip?
How are they getting on with the stilts, mastered them yet?
Kryn