Thuringia

Thuringia exists because optics exists—and because the 'Green Heart of Germany' preserved precision manufacturing traditions through two dictatorships to become a hidden champion factory. Jena birthed the modern optics industry: Carl Zeiss opened his microscope workshop in 1846, Ernst Abbe developed lens theory, Otto Schott invented specialty glass. This trinity created path dependence so powerful that even post-WWII division couldn't break it—Zeiss split into East and West entities, both thriving. Today's Thuringia produces everything requiring extreme precision: Jenoptik laser systems, Rolls-Royce turbine components, Bosch automotive electronics. The €75.9 billion GDP (2023) and record €36,942 GDP per capita (2024) reflect manufacturing's 'above-average' share of economic output. Amazon chose Erfurt for its 'most innovative facility in Europe'—3,600 transport robots—because Thuringia's central German location minimizes logistics costs. Japanese investment surged in 2024: Nissha Advanced Technologies invested €25 million, diversifying from automotive to consumer electronics. Yet the Weimar Republic's namesake city reminds that Thuringia's history includes Germany's darkest chapters—the Bauhaus school fled Nazi pressure from Weimar to Dessau in 1925, and Buchenwald concentration camp operated just kilometers away. By 2026, Thuringia faces the dual challenge of demographic decline (aging workforce) and automotive industry transformation threatening supplier networks.