Mödlareuth

Mödlareuth is a German village situated partly in Bavaria and partly in Thuringia. Between 1949 and 1990, the northern part was in East Germany and the southern part in West Germany. The Thuringian part of the village belongs to Gefell while the Bavarian part belongs to Töpen. It was called Little Berlin by the Americans because a wall divided it until 1989, like the Berlin Wall divided Berlin. Little Berlin has become a symbol of separation between the West and East by the wall. Yet it is also a symbol of reunification. Therewith it also represents something greater which does not only concern Berlin or Mödlareuth, but the whole of Germany and all Germans. This applies to the past as well as the present. Now the Museum Mödlareuth shows the history of the village and gives information about the political system at that time.HistoryEarly historyIn the year 1374 the village is mentioned for the first time in a document of the parish church of Gefell . Mödlareuth shows up in an urbarium of 1502 that registers the fief ownership in the region. However, no further information is available, not even the detailed location is documented. In 1810 the Tannbach stream, which flows through Mödlareuth, became the new border between the Kingdom of Bavaria and the principality of Reuss Junior Line. For 140 years this border made little difference to the local populace. There was just one school and one restaurant, both on the Reuss side, the villagers went to church in the neighboring Bavarian municipality Töpen.