The settlement of Thale probably emerged at the beginning of the 10th century. It was documented in 936 in connexion with the neighbouring Wendhusen Abbey, which had been founded around 825 AD as a chapter of canonesses (
Kanonissenstift). Established by an
Eastphalian comital family and based on the model of
Herford Abbey, it was one of the first monasteries in the medieval
Duchy of Saxony. After Queen Dowager
Matilda, wife of the late King
Henry the Fowler, tried in vain to relocate the convent in 936, it came under the guardianship of the newly established
Quedlinburg chapter. The adjacent village was first mentioned in a 1231 deed as
Dat Dorp to dem Dale (from 1288 it was given the
Latinised description
de valle, and from 1303 as
von Thale). In the late Middle Ages, the estates were held by the Saxon
Counts of Regenstein, vassals of the
Halberstadt prince-bishops. The monastery premises were stormed and devastated in 1525 during the
German Peasants' War. From 1445 the records show that there had been an
ironworks in Thale. It was rebuilt from
1648 onwards after the devastations of the
Thirty Years' War as the
Berghaus zum Wilden Mann, but was fully destroyed in 1670. After the secularised
Halberstadt territories were incorporated by
Brandenburg-Prussia, a small
hammer mill was established in 1686 out of which a new ironworks later developed that benefited especially from its proximity to the ore deposits and the availability of wood. It lasted until 1714. In 1740 a business was opened again. For a short time this ironworks was owned by the
Prussian king
Frederick the Great. Part of the Prussian
Province of Saxony since 1815, the first wrought-iron wagon axle to be made in the German lands was manufactured here in 1831. In 1835 the oldest sheet steel enamel works in Europe was founded in Thale. Following the town's connexion to the railway network in 1862 with a line to
Berlin the place flourished as did the number of workers. Whilst the
iron industry had only 350 workers in 1872, by 1905 there were as many as 4,400. In particular, the production of
enamel contributed to Thale's international renown; in its heyday Thale produced no less than 10% of the world's production. In 1910
Karl Liebknecht,
Rosa Luxemburg and
Clara Zetkin spoke to Thale's workers. From 1916
steel helmets were produced in Thale. In the
World War II Thale had the
monopoly on this product (from 1934). Tourism blossomed from the 19th century onwards in connexion with the
radon rich water of the
Hubertus Spring, which had been opened up in 1836. As a result, various literary figures visited the place, including
Heinrich Heine (
Die Harzreise) and
Theodor Fontane and especially the Bode Gorge. In addition tourists from Berlin enjoyed the summer resort of Thale. This encouraged the connexion of Thale in 1862 to the railway line from
Wegeleben. In 1909 a branch line from
Blankenburg (Harz) followed. In 1922 the resort was given
town rights. From 12 to 14 June 2009 Thale was the venue for the
Saxony-Anhalt Day held under the motto
Thale sagenhaft ("Legendary Thale"), and attracted around 200,000 visitors.
Incorporation of other municipalities Warnstedt was incorporated in 2003. In 2009 a total of seven municipalities were incorporated on four separate dates. Westerhausen was added in 2010. Allrode became a part of the town of Thale in 2011. The changes in area are shown in a separate table. ;Area of the town of Thale
Population growth The growth of population
(from 1995 censuses were taken every 31 December): == Politics ==