Erlebach was a village in Germany, founded in 1310 A D. It was destroyed by the East German authorities in 1986 as it stood too close to the Inner German border (part of the larger "Iron Curtain"), the border between the post-war states of East and West Germany. It lay in the extreme south of Thuringia in the district of Hildburghausen, only a few hundred metres away from the Thuringian-Bavarian border.[1]

A stone cellar near the desolated village of Erlebach

In December 1986, the last family left the village. After that, all the houses were demolished and the land leveled. What remains is the village pond and a plaque on the old village site.

References

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  1. ^ "In pictures: A ride along the route of the old Iron Curtain". 30 December 2009 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  • Norbert Klaus Fuchs: Billmuthausen – Das verurteilte Dorf. Greifenverlag zu Rudolstadt & Berlin, 2009,ISBN 978-3-86939-004-8
  • Norbert Klaus Fuchs: Das Heldburger Land–ein historischer Reiseführer; Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza 2013, ISBN 978-3-86777-349-2

50°15′10.88″N 10°47′07.51″E / 50.2530222°N 10.7854194°E / 50.2530222; 10.7854194