Thuringia

context: Since the Protestant Reformation, the most prominent Christian denomination in Thuringia has been Lutheranism. During the GDR period, church membership was discouraged and has continued shrinking since the reunification in 1990. Today over two thirds of the population is non-religious. The Protestant Evangelical Church in Germany has had the largest number of members in the state, adhered to by 24.0% of the population in 2009. Members of the Catholic Church formed 7.8% of the population, while 68.2% of Thuringians were non-religious or adhere to other faiths. The highest Protestant concentrations are in the small villages of southern and western Thuringia, whereas the bigger cities are even more non-religious (up to 88% in Gera). Catholic regions are the Eichsfeld in the northwest and parts of the Rhön Mountains around Geisa in the southwest. Protestant church membership is shrinking rapidly, whereas the Catholic Church is somewhat more stable because of Catholic migration from Poland, Southern Europe and West Germany. Other religions play no significant role in Thuringia. There are only a few thousand Muslims (largely migrants) and about 750 Jews (mostly migrants from Russia) living in Thuringia. Furthermore, there are some Orthodox communities of Eastern European migrants and some traditional Protestant Free churches in Thuringia without any societal influence.
qas: answers: text: Lutheranism
question: What is the most common Christian denomination in Thuringia? 

answers: text: Today over two thirds of the population
question: How much of the Thuringia population is non-religious?

answers: text: The Protestant Evangelical Church in Germany
question: Which church in the state has the largest amount of members?

answers: text: 7.8% of the population
question: How much of the Thuringia population are Catholic?

answers: text: 750 Jews
question: How many Jews live in Thuringia?

context: The name Thuringia or Thüringen derives from the Germanic tribe Thuringii, who emerged during the Migration Period. Their origin is not completely known. An older theory claimed that they were successors of the Hermunduri, but later research rejected the idea. Other historians argue that the Thuringians were allies of the Huns, came to central Europe together with them, and lived before in what is Galicia today. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus first mentioned the Thuringii around 400; during that period, the Thuringii were famous for their excellent horses.
qas: answers: text: the Germanic tribe Thuringii
question: Where does the name Thuringia come from?

answers: text: the Migration Period
question: When did Thuringii emerge?

answers: text: the Huns
question: Who are the theoretical allies of the Thuringians?

answers: text: around 400
question: When were the thuringii first mentioned?

context: The Thuringian Realm existed until 531 and later, the Landgraviate of Thuringia was the largest state in the region, persisting between 1131 and 1247. Afterwards there was no state named Thuringia, nevertheless the term commonly described the region between the Harz mountains in the north, the Weiße Elster river in the east, the Franconian Forest in the south and the Werra river in the west. After the Treaty of Leipzig, Thuringia had its own dynasty again, the Ernestine Wettins. Their various lands formed the Free State of Thuringia, founded in 1920, together with some other small principalities. The Prussian territories around Erfurt, Mühlhausen and Nordhausen joined Thuringia in 1945.
qas: answers: text: until 531 and later
question: How long did the Thuringian realm exist?

answers: text: the Landgraviate of Thuringia
question: Which state was the largest in the region?

answers: text: the region between the Harz mountains in the north, the Weiße Elster river in the east, the Franconian Forest in the south and the Werra river in the west.
question: Where is Thuringia located?

answers: text: the Ernestine Wettins
question: Which dynasty formed after the Treaty of Leipzig? 

answers: text: Prussian territories around Erfurt, Mühlhausen and Nordhausen
question: Which Prussian territories joined Thuringia in 1945?

context: Thuringia became a landgraviate in 1130 AD. After the extinction of the reigning Ludowingian line of counts and landgraves in 1247 and the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264), the western half became independent under the name of "Hesse", never to become a part of Thuringia again. Most of the remaining Thuringia came under the rule of the Wettin dynasty of the nearby Margraviate of Meissen, the nucleus of the later Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony. With the division of the house of Wettin in 1485, Thuringia went to the senior Ernestine branch of the family, which subsequently subdivided the area into a number of smaller states, according to the Saxon tradition of dividing inheritance amongst male heirs. These were the "Saxon duchies", consisting, among others, of the states of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Jena, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, and Saxe-Gotha; Thuringia became merely a geographical concept.
qas: answers: text: in 1130 AD
question: When did Thuringia become a landgraviate? 

answers: text: 1247–1264
question: Which years were the War of the Thuringian Succession fought?

answers: text: 1247
question: When did the western half of the state become Hesse?

answers: text: Margraviate of Meissen
question: Where was the Wettin dynasty from?

answers: text: the states of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Jena, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, and Saxe-Gotha
question: Who did the Saxon Duchies consist of?

context: Thuringia generally accepted the Protestant Reformation, and Roman Catholicism was suppressed as early as 1520[citation needed]; priests who remained loyal to it were driven away and churches and monasteries were largely destroyed, especially during the German Peasants' War of 1525. In Mühlhausen and elsewhere, the Anabaptists found many adherents. Thomas Müntzer, a leader of some non-peaceful groups of this sect, was active in this city. Within the borders of modern Thuringia the Roman Catholic faith only survived in the Eichsfeld district, which was ruled by the Archbishop of Mainz, and to a small degree in Erfurt and its immediate vicinity.
qas: answers: text: as early as 1520
question: When did Roman Catholicism become suppressed?

answers: text: were driven away
question: What happened to loyal Roman Catholicism priests?

answers: text: during the German Peasants' War of 1525
question: When were most churches and monasteries destroyed?

answers: text: a leader of some non-peaceful groups
question: Who was Thomas Muntzer?

answers: text: the Eichsfeld district
question: Which Thuringian district did the Roman Catholic faith survive in?

context: Some reordering of the Thuringian states occurred during the German Mediatisation from 1795 to 1814, and the territory was included within the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine organized in 1806. The 1815 Congress of Vienna confirmed these changes and the Thuringian states' inclusion in the German Confederation; the Kingdom of Prussia also acquired some Thuringian territory and administered it within the Province of Saxony. The Thuringian duchies which became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany were Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the two principalities of Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line. In 1920, after World War I, these small states merged into one state, called Thuringia; only Saxe-Coburg voted to join Bavaria instead. Weimar became the new capital of Thuringia. The coat of arms of this new state was simpler than they had been previously.
qas: answers: text: 1795 to 1814
question: When was the German Mediatisation?

answers: text: The 1815 Congress of Vienna
question: When were the mediatisation changes confirmed?

answers: text: the Kingdom of Prussia
question: Which kingdom acquired some Thuringian territory?

answers: text: Prussian-led
question: Who led the unification of Germany in 1871?

answers: text: Weimar
question: Which city became the capital of Thuringia after World War 1? 

context: In 1930 Thuringia was one of the free states where the Nazis gained real political power. Wilhelm Frick was appointed Minister of the Interior for the state of Thuringia after the Nazi Party won six delegates to the Thuringia Diet. In this position he removed from the Thuringia police force anyone he suspected of being a republican and replaced them with men who were favourable towards the Nazi Party. He also ensured that whenever an important position came up within Thuringia, he used his power to ensure that a Nazi was given that post.
qas: answers: text: 1930
question: When did nazis gain power in Thuringia?

answers: text: Wilhelm Frick
question: Who was the minister of the Interior for Thuringia in 1930?

answers: text: six delegates
question: How many delegates did the nazi party win in 1930?

answers: text: anyone he suspected of being a republican
question: Who did Frick remove from the police force?

answers: text: men who were favourable towards the Nazi Party
question: Who did Frick replace republican police with?

context: The landscapes of Thuringia are quite diverse. The far north is occupied by the Harz mountains, followed by the Goldene Aue, a fertile floodplain around Nordhausen with the Helme as most important river. The north-west includes the Eichsfeld, a hilly and sometimes forested region, where the Leine river emanates. The central and northern part of Thuringia is defined by the 3000 km² wide Thuringian Basin, a very fertile and flat area around the Unstrut river and completely surrounded by the following hill chains (clockwise from the north-west): Dün, Hainleite, Windleite, Kyffhäuser, Hohe Schrecke, Schmücke, Finne, Ettersberg, Steigerwald, Thuringian Forest, Hörselberge and Hainich. Within the Basin the smaller hill chains Fahner Höhe and Heilinger Höhen. South of the Thuringian Basin is the Land's largest mountain range, marked by the Thuringian Forest in the north-west, the Thuringian Highland in the middle and the Franconian Forest in the south-east. Most of this range is forested and the Großer Beerberg (983 m) is Thuringia's highest mountain. To the south-west, the Forest is followed up by Werra river valley, dividing it from the Rhön Mountains in the west and the Grabfeld plain in the south. Eastern Thuringia, commonly described as the area east of Saale and Loquitz valley, is marked by a hilly landscape, rising slowly from the flat north to the mountainous south. The Saale in the west and the Weiße Elster in the east are the two big rivers running from south to north and forming densely settled valleys in this area. Between them lies the flat and forested Holzland in the north, the flat and fertile Orlasenke in the middle and the Vogtland, a hilly but in most parts non-forested region in the south. The far eastern region (east of Weiße Elster) is the Osterland or Altenburger Land along Pleiße river, a flat, fertile and densely settled agricultural area.
qas: answers: text: The far north
question: Where are the Harz mountains located?

answers: text: hilly and sometimes forested
question: What is the landscape of Eichsfeld? 

answers: text: Großer Beerberg
question: What is Thuringia's highest mountain?

answers: text: in the middle
question: Where is Orlasenke located?

answers: text: The Saale in the west and the Weiße Elster in the east
question: How many big rivers flow through Thuringia? 

context: The most important river in Thuringia is the Saale (a tributary of the Elbe) with its tributaries Unstrut, Ilm and Weiße Elster, draining the most parts of Thuringia and the Werra (the headwater of the Weser), draining the south-west and west of the Land. Furthermore, some small parts on the southern border are drained by tributaries of the Main (a tributary of the Rhine). There are no large natural lakes in Thuringia, but it does have some of Germany's biggest dams including the Bleiloch Dam and the Hohenwarte Dam at Saale river same as the Leibis-Lichte Dam and the Goldisthal Pumped Storage Station within the Highland. Thuringia is Germany's only state without connection to navigable waterways.
qas: answers: text: the Saale
question: Which river in Thuringia is the most important?

answers: text: There are no large natural lakes in Thuringia
question: Are there any large lakes in Thuringia?

answers: text: the Bleiloch Dam and the Hohenwarte Dam
question: What are some of the large dams located in Thuringia?

answers: text: the Main (a tributary of the Rhine)
question: Which tributary is located on the southern border? 

context: Due to many centuries of intensive settlement, most of the area is shaped by human influence. The original natural vegetation of Thuringia is forest with beech as its predominant species, as can still be found in the Hainich mountains today. In the uplands, a mixture of beech and spruce would be natural. However, most of the plains have been cleared and are in intensive agricultural use while most of the forests are planted with spruce and pine. Since 1990, Thuringia's forests have been managed aiming for a more natural and tough vegetation more resilient to climate change as well as diseases and vermin. In comparison to the forest, agriculture is still quite conventional and dominated by large structures and monocultures. Problems here are caused especially by increasingly prolonged dry periods during the summer months.
qas: answers: text: Due to many centuries of intensive settlement
question: Why is Thurnigia's landscape shaped by human influence?

answers: text: a mixture of beech and spruce
question: What type of nature is common in the highlands of Thuringia? 

answers: text: forest with beech as its predominant species
question: What is the original natural vegetation of Thuringia?

answers: text: increasingly prolonged dry periods during the summer months
question: Where do most landscape problems come from?

answers: text: more natural and tough vegetation
question: What has been the aim for the Thuringian forests since 1990?

context: Environmental damage in Thuringia has been reduced to a large extent after 1990. The condition of forests, rivers and air was improved by modernizing factories, houses (decline of coal heating) and cars, and contaminated areas such as the former Uranium surface mines around Ronneburg have been remediated. Today's environmental problems are the salination of the Werra river, caused by discharges of K+S salt mines around Unterbreizbach and overfertilisation in agriculture, damaging the soil and small rivers.
qas: answers: text: 1990
question: Since when has environmental damage in Thuringia been reduced?

answers: text: modernizing factories
question: What is one thing that helped to improve condition of forests, rivers and air?

answers: text: Uranium surface mines around Ronneburg have been remediated
question: What has been done to former Uranium surface mines around Ronneburg?

answers: text: the salination of the Werra river
question: What are today's big environmental problems?

answers: text: discharges of K+S salt mines around Unterbreizbach
question: What is causing the salination of the Werra river?

context: During the Middle Ages, Thuringia was situated at the border between Germanic and Slavic territories, marked by the Saale river. The Ostsiedlung movement led to the assimilation of Slavic people between the 11th and the 13th century under German rule. The population growth increased during the 18th century and stayed high until World War I, before it slowed within the 20th century and changed to a decline since 1990. Since the beginning of Urbanisation around 1840, the Thuringian cities have higher growth rates resp. smaller rates of decline than rural areas (many villages lost half of their population since 1950, whereas the biggest cities (Erfurt and Jena) keep growing).
qas: answers: text: the border between Germanic and Slavic territories
question: Where was Thuringia in the Middle Ages?

answers: text: the assimilation of Slavic people between the 11th and the 13th century under German rule
question: What was the result of the Ostsiedlung movement?

answers: text: World War I
question: When did population growth in Thuringia peak?

answers: text: 1950
question: In what year did many cities in Thuringia lose half of their population?

context: In July 2013, there were 41,000 non-Germans by citizenship living in Thuringia (1.9% of the population − among the smallest proportions of any state in Germany). Nevertheless, the number rose from 33,000 in July 2011, an increase of 24% in only two years. About 4% of the population are migrants (including persons that already received the German citizenship). The biggest groups of foreigners by citizenship are (as of 2012): Russians (3,100), Poles (3,000), Vietnamese (2,800), Turks (2,100) and Ukrainians (2,000). The amount of foreigners varies between regions: the college towns Erfurt, Jena, Weimar and Ilmenau have the highest rates, whereas there are almost no migrants living in the most rural smaller municipalities.
qas: answers: text: 41,000
question: How many non-Germans lived in Thuringia in 2013?

answers: text: 24%
question: What was the increase in non-German population between 2011 and 2013?

answers: text: 4%
question: How much of the Thuringian population are migrants?

answers: text: Russians
question: What is the largest group of foreigners?

answers: text: Erfurt, Jena, Weimar and Ilmenau
question: Which towns have the highest immigrant population?

context: The Thuringian population has a significant sex ratio gap, caused by the emigration of young women, especially in rural areas. Overall, there are 115 to 120 men per 100 women in the 25–40 age group ("family founders") which has negative consequences for the birth ratio. Furthermore, the population is getting older and older with some rural municipalities recording more than 30% of over-65s (pensioners). This is a problem for the regional labour market, as there are twice as many people leaving as entering the job market annually.
qas: answers: text: 115 to 120 men per 100 women
question: What is the sex ratio gap in Thuringia?

answers: text: emigration of young women
question: What caused the wide sex ratio gap in Thuringia?

answers: text: more than 30%
question: How many citizens of Thuringia are over the age of 65?

answers: text: there are twice as many people leaving as entering the job market annually.
question: What is the problem facing the job market in Thuringia?

context: Migration plays an important role in Thuringia. The internal migration shows a strong tendency from rural areas towards the big cities. From 2008 to 2012, there was a net migration from Thuringia to Erfurt of +6,700 persons (33 per 1000 inhabitants), +1,800 to Gera (19 per 1000), +1,400 to Jena (14 per 1000), +1,400 to Eisenach (33 per 1000) and +1,300 to Weimar (21 per 1000). Between Thuringia and the other German states, the balance is negative: In 2012, Thuringia lost 6,500 persons to other federal states, the most to Bavaria, Saxony, Hesse and Berlin. Only with Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg the balance is positive. The international migration is fluctuating heavily. In 2009, the balance was +700, in 2010 +1,800, in 2011 +2,700 and in 2012 +4,800. The most important countries of origin of the Thuringia migrants from 2008 to 2012 were Poland (+1,700), Romania (+1,200), Afghanistan (+1,100) and Serbia/Montenegro/Kosovo (+1,000), whereas the balance was negative with Switzerland (−2,800) and Austria (−900).
qas: answers: text: +6,700 persons
question: How many people migrated to Thuringia between 2008 and 2012?

answers: text: +1,400
question: How many migrants went to Eisenach? 

answers: text: The international migration is fluctuating heavily
question: Is the migration to Thuringia steady or fluctuating? 

context: Of the approximately 850 municipalities of Thuringia, 126 are classed as towns (within a district) or cities (forming their own urban district). Most of the towns are small with a population of less than 10,000; only the ten biggest ones have a population greater than 30,000. The first towns emerged during the 12th century, whereas the latest ones received town status only in the 20th century. Today, all municipalities within districts are equal in law, whether they are towns or villages. Independent cities (i.e. urban districts) have greater powers (the same as any district) than towns within a district.
qas: answers: text: 850
question: How many municipalities are in Thuringia? 

answers: text: 126
question: How many municipalities in Thuringia are classified as towns?

answers: text: ten
question: How many towns have populations greater than 30,000?

answers: text: the 20th century
question: What was the latest a town was established in Thuringia?

answers: text: Independent cities (i.e. urban districts) have greater powers (the same as any district) than towns within a district.
question: Which regions of Thuringia have the most political power?

context: Agriculture and forestry have declined in importance over the decades. Nevertheless, they are more important than in the most other areas of Germany, especially within rural regions. 54% of Thuringia's territory is in agricultural use. The fertile basins such as the large Thuringian Basin or the smaller Goldene Aue, Orlasenke and Osterland are in intensive use for growing cereals, vegetables, fruits and energy crops. Important products are apples, strawberries, cherries and plums in the fruit sector, cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes (grown in greenhouses), onions, cucumbers and asparagus in the vegetable sector, as well as maize, rapeseed, wheat, barley and sugar beets in the crop sector.
qas: answers: text: Agriculture and forestry
question: What is something more important to Thuringia than most areas of Germany?

answers: text: 54%
question: How much of Thuringia's territory is in agricultural use?

answers: text: the large Thuringian Basin
question: What is the largest fertile area of Thuringia?

answers: text: greenhouses
question: Where do they grow tomatoes in Thuringia?

answers: text: rural regions
question: Which regions value agriculture most?

context: Like most other regions of central and southern Germany, Thuringia has a significant industrial sector reaching back to the mid-19th-century industrialisation. The economic transition after the German reunification in 1990 led to the closure of most large-scale factories and companies, leaving small and medium-sized ones to dominate the manufacturing sector. Well-known industrial centres are Jena (a world centre for optical instruments with companies like Carl Zeiss, Schott and Jenoptik) and Eisenach, where BMW started its car production in the 1920s and an Opel factory is based today. The most important industrial branches today are engineering and metalworking, vehicle production and food industries. Especially the small and mid-sized towns in central and southwestern Thuringia (e.g. Arnstadt, Schmalkalden and Ohrdruf) are highly industrialised, whereas there are fewer industrial companies in the northern and eastern parts of the Land. Traditional industries like production of glass, porcelain and toys collapsed during the economic crises between 1930 and 1990.
qas: answers: text: the mid-19th-century industrialisation
question: How far back does Thuringia's industrial sector go back?

answers: text: the closure of most large-scale factories and companies
question: What was the result of the economic transition after the German reunification in 1990?

answers: text: the northern and eastern parts of the Land.
question: Where in Thuringia are there fewer industrial companies?

answers: text: between 1930 and 1990
question: When did traditional industries like glass and toy making collapse?

answers: text: Eisenach
question: Where in Thuringia did BMW get it's start in the 1920's?

context: Mining was important in Thuringia since the later Middle Ages, especially within the mining towns of the Thuringian Forest such as Schmalkalden, Suhl and Ilmenau. Following the industrial revolution, the old iron, copper and silver mines declined because the competition from imported metal was too strong. On the other hand, the late 19th century brought new types of mines to Thuringia: the lignite surface mining around Meuselwitz near Altenburg in the east of the Land started in the 1870s, and two potash mining districts were established around 1900. These are the Südharzrevier in the north of the state, between Bischofferode in the west and Roßleben in the east with Sondershausen at its centre, and the Werrarevier on the Hessian border around Vacha and Bad Salzungen in the west. Together, they accounted for a significant part of the world's potash production in the mid-20th century. After the reunification, the Südharzrevier was abandoned, whereas K+S took over the mines in the Werrarevier. Between 1950 and 1990, uranium mining was also important to cover the Soviet Union's need for this metal. The centre was Ronneburg near Gera in eastern Thuringia and the operating company Wismut was under direct Soviet control.
qas: answers: text: Schmalkalden, Suhl and Ilmenau
question: Which towns in Thuringia are known as mining towns?

answers: text: because the competition from imported metal was too strong
question: Why did the iron, copper and silver mines fail?

answers: text: the Südharzrevier
question: What is one of the two mining districts were established around 1900?

answers: text: uranium mining was also important to cover the Soviet Union's need for this metal
question: What did the Thuringian miners do to help the Soviet Union?

answers: text: After the reunification
question: When did the Südharzrevier close?

context: The GDP of Thuringia is below the national average, in line with the other former East German Lands. Until 2004, Thuringia was one of the weakest regions within the European Union. The accession of several new countries, the crisis in southern Europe and the sustained economic growth in Germany since 2005 has brought the Thuringian GDP close to the EU average since then. The high economic subsidies granted by the federal government and the EU after 1990 are being reduced gradually and will end around 2020.
qas: answers: text: below the national average
question: Where is the GDP of Thuringia?

answers: text: Until 2004
question: For how long was Thuringia one of the weakest regions in the EU?

answers: text: The accession of several new countries, the crisis in southern Europe and the sustained economic growth
question: What has helped to improve Thuringia? 

answers: text: around 2020
question: When will government subsidies to Thuringia end?

context: The unemployment rate reached its peak of 20% in 2005. Since then, it has decreased to 7% in 2013, which is only slightly above the national average. The decrease is caused on the one hand by the emergence of new jobs and on the other by a marked decrease in the working-age population, caused by emigration and low birth rates for decades. The wages in Thuringia are low compared to rich bordering Lands like Hesse and Bavaria. Therefore, many Thuringians are working in other German Lands and even in Austria and Switzerland as weekly commuters. Nevertheless, the demographic transition in Thuringia leads to a lack of workers in some sectors. External immigration into Thuringia has been encouraged by the government since about 2010 to counter this problem.
qas: answers: text: 20% in 2005
question: When did the unemployment rate of Thuringia peak?

answers: text: it has decreased to 7%
question: What is the current state of unemployment in Thuringia? 

answers: text: The wages in Thuringia are low compared to rich bordering Lands like Hesse and Bavaria.
question: How do wages in Thuringia compare to their neighbors?

answers: text: working in other German Lands and even in Austria and Switzerland as weekly commuters
question: What do many Thuringian workers do to earn better wages?

answers: text: demographic transition
question: What has lead to a lack of workers in some sectors?

context: During the 1930s, the first two motorways were built across the Land, the A4 motorway as an important east-west connection in central Germany and the main link between Berlin and south-west Germany, and the A9 motorway as the main north-south route in eastern Germany, connecting Berlin with Munich. The A4 runs from Frankfurt in Hesse via Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar, Jena and Gera to Dresden in Saxony, connecting Thuringia's most important cities. At Hermsdorf junction it is connected with the A9. Both highways were widened from four to six lanes (three each way) after 1990, including some extensive re-routing in the Eisenach and Jena areas. Furthermore, three new motorways were built during the 1990s and 2000s. The A71 crosses the Land in southwest-northeast direction, connecting Würzburg in Bavaria via Meiningen, Suhl, Ilmenau, Arnstadt, Erfurt and Sömmerda with Sangerhausen and Halle in Saxony-Anhalt. The crossing of the Thuringian Forest by the A71 has been one of Germany's most expensive motorway segments with various tunnels (including Germany's longest road tunnel, the Rennsteig Tunnel) and large bridges. The A73 starts at the A71 south of Erfurt in Suhl and runs south towards Nuremberg in Bavaria. The A38 is another west-east connection in the north of Thuringia running from Göttingen in Lower Saxony via Heiligenstadt and Nordhausen to Leipzig in Saxony. Furthermore, there is a dense network of federal highways complementing the motorway network. The upgrading of federal highways is prioritised in the federal trunk road programme 2015 (Bundesverkehrswegeplan 2015). Envisaged projects include upgrades of the B247 from Gotha to Leinefelde to improve Mühlhausen's connection to the national road network, the B19 from Eisenach to Meiningen to improve access to Bad Salzungen and Schmalkalden, and the B88 and B281 for strengthening the Saalfeld/Rudolstadt region.
qas: answers: text: During the 1930s
question: When were the first motorways built in Thuringia?

answers: text: Both highways were widened from four to six lanes (three each way) after 1990
question: When were the two motorways expanded?

answers: text: during the 1990s and 2000s
question: When were three additional roads built?

answers: text: The crossing of the Thuringian Forest by the A71
question: Which motorway is Thuringia's most expensive?

answers: text: The upgrading of federal highways
question:   What is the top priority of the federal trunk road programme 2015?

context: The traditional energy supply of Thuringia is lignite, mined in the bordering Leipzig region. Since 2000, the importance of environmentally unfriendly lignite combustion has declined in favour of renewable energies, which reached an amount of 40% (in 2013), and more clean gas combustion, often carried out as Cogeneration in the municipal power stations. The most important forms of renewable energies are Wind power and Biomass, followed by Solar energy and Hydroelectricity. Furthermore, Thuringia hosts two big pumped storage stations: the Goldisthal Pumped Storage Station and the Hohenwarte Dam.
qas: answers: text: lignite
question: What is Thuringia's traditional energy supply?

answers: text: mined in the bordering Leipzig region
question: Where does Thuringia get it's lignite?

answers: text: carried out as Cogeneration in the municipal power stations
question: How is most of Thuringia's clean gas consumption carried out?

answers: text: Wind power and Biomass
question: What are Thuringia's most important renewable energy sources?

answers: text: big pumped storage stations
question: What is Hohenwarte Dam?

context: Health care in Thuringia is currently undergoing a concentration process. Many smaller hospitals in the rural towns are closing, whereas the bigger ones in centres like Jena and Erfurt get enlarged. Overall, there is an oversupply of hospital beds, caused by rationalisation processes in the German health care system, so that many smaller hospitals generate losses. On the other hand, there is a lack of family doctors, especially in rural regions with increased need of health care provision because of overageing.
qas: answers: text: bigger ones in centres like Jena and Erfurt
question: Which hospitals are being expanded?

answers: text: rationalisation processes in the German health care system
question: Why are there too many hospital beds?

answers: text: rural regions with increased need of health care provision because of overageing.
question: Where is it the most difficult to find a family doctor?

context: Early-years education is quite common in Thuringia. Since the 1950s, nearly all children have been using the service, whereas early-years education is less developed in western Germany. Its inventor Friedrich Fröbel lived in Thuringia and founded the world's first Kindergartens there in the 19th century. The Thuringian primary school takes four years and most primary schools are all-day schools offering optional extracurricular activities in the afternoon. At the age of ten, pupils are separated according to aptitude and proceed to either the Gymnasium or the Regelschule. The former leads to the Abitur exam after a further eight years and prepares for higher education, while the latter has a more vocational focus and finishes with exams after five or six years, comparable to the Hauptschule and Realschule found elsewhere in Germany.
qas: answers: text: four years
question: How long is Thuringian primary school?

answers: text: Since the 1950s
question: For how long have Thuringian children been using the current education system?

answers: text: At the age of ten
question: When do children graduate from primary school in Thuringia?

answers: text: Friedrich Fröbel
question: Who invented the early years education in Thuringia? 

answers: text: eight years
question: How many years of school do students attend after primary?

context: The German higher education system comprises two forms of academic institutions: universities and polytechnics (Fachhochschule). The University of Jena is the biggest amongst Thuringia's four universities and offers nearly every discipline. It was founded in 1558, and today has 21,000 students. The second-largest is the Technische Universität Ilmenau with 7,000 students, founded in 1894, which offers many technical disciplines such as engineering and mathematics. The University of Erfurt, founded in 1392, has 5,000 students today and an emphasis on humanities and teacher training. The Bauhaus University Weimar with 4,000 students is Thuringia's smallest university, specialising in creative subjects such as architecture and arts. It was founded in 1860 and came to prominence as Germany's leading art school during the inter-war period, the Bauhaus.
qas: answers: text: The University of Jena
question: What is the biggest school in Thuringia?

answers: text: four
question: How many universities are there in Thuringia?

answers: text: 5,000
question: How many students attend The University of Erfurt?

answers: text: The Bauhaus University Weimar
question: What is Germany's leading art school in Thuringia?

answers: text: 1860
question: When was The Bauhaus University Weimar founded?

context: The polytechnics of Thuringia are based in Erfurt (4,500 students), Jena (5,000 students), Nordhausen (2,500 students) and Schmalkalden (3,000 students). In addition, there is a civil service college in Gotha with 500 students, the College of Music "Franz Liszt" in Weimar (800 students) as well as two private colleges, the Adam-Ries-Fachhochschule in Erfurt (500 students) and the SRH College for nursing and allied medical subjects (SRH Fachhochschule für Gesundheit Gera) in Gera (500 students). Finally, there are colleges for those studying for a technical qualification while working in a related field (Berufsakademie) at Eisenach (600 students) and Gera (700 students).
qas: answers: text: Gotha
question: Where is the civil service college of Thuringia?

answers: text: 800
question: How many students attend the college of music in Thuringia?

answers: text: Erfurt (4,500 students), Jena (5,000 students), Nordhausen (2,500 students) and Schmalkalden
question: How many schools offer polytechnics?

context: Thuringia's leading research centre is Jena, followed by Ilmenau. Both focus on technology, in particular life sciences and optics at Jena and information technology at Ilmenau. Erfurt is a centre of Germany's horticultural research, whereas Weimar and Gotha with their various archives and libraries are centres of historic and cultural research. Most of the research in Thuringia is publicly funded basic research due to the lack of large companies able to invest significant amounts in applied research, with the notable exception of the optics sector at Jena.
qas: answers: text: life sciences and optics
question: What is the focus of Thuringia's research center, Jena?

answers: text: Weimar and Gotha
question: Which universities are known for their historic and cultural aspects?

answers: text: publicly funded
question: How is most research in Thuringia funded?

answers: text: the optics sector at Jena.
question:   What is one company that is able to get investments from large companies?

context: The first railways in Thuringia had been built in the 1840s and the network of main lines was finished around 1880. By 1920, many branch lines had been built, giving Thuringia one of the densest rail networks in the world before World War II with about 2,500 km of track. Between 1950 and 2000 most of the branch lines were abandoned, reducing Thuringia's network by half compared to 1940. On the other hand, most of the main lines were refurbished after 1990, resulting in improved speed of travel. The most important railway lines at present are the Thuringian Railway, connecting Halle and Leipzig via Weimar, Erfurt, Gotha and Eisenach with Frankfurt and Kassel and the Saal Railway from Halle/Leipzig via Jena and Saalfeld to Nuremberg. The former has an hourly ICE/IC service from Dresden to Frankfurt while the latter is served hourly by ICE trains from Berlin to Munich. In 2017, a new high speed line will be opened, diverting long-distance services from these mid-19th century lines. Both ICE routes will then use the Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway, and the Berlin-Munich route will continue via the Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway. Only the segment west of Erfurt of the Frankfurt-Dresden line will continue to be used by ICE trains after 2017, with an increased line speed of 200 km/h (currently 160 km/h). Erfurt's central station, which was completely rebuilt for this purpose in the 2000s (decade), will be the new connection between both ICE lines. The most important regional railway lines in Thuringia are the Neudietendorf–Ritschenhausen railway from Erfurt to Würzburg and Meiningen, the Weimar–Gera railway from Erfurt to Chemnitz, the Sangerhausen–Erfurt railway from Erfurt to Magdeburg, the Gotha–Leinefelde railway from Erfurt to Göttingen, the Halle–Kassel railway from Halle via Nordhausen to Kassel and the Leipzig–Hof railway from Leipzig via Altenburg to Zwickau and Hof. Most regional and local lines have hourly service, but some run only every other hour.
qas: answers: text: the 1840s
question: When was Thuringia's first railway built?

answers: text: Between 1950 and 2000
question: When were most of the branch lines of the railway abandoned? 

answers: text: In 2017, a new high speed line will be opened,
question: When will the new high speed train be open?