state of central Germany: 6,244 sq mi (16,172 sq km); pop. 2,518,000; cap. Erfurt
Ger. name
See Thuringia in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A historical region of central Germany south of the Harz Mountains and crossed by the Thuringian Forest, a range of low, wooded mountains. The region fell to the Franks in the 6th century A.D. and became a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century.