Billmuthausen
Billmuthausen was a village in Germany, founded in 1340. It was destroyed by East German authorities in 1978 as it stood too close to the Inner German border, the border between the post-war states of East and West Germany. It lay in the extreme south of Thuringia in the Heldburger Land in the district of Hildburghausen, only away from the Thuringian-Bavarian border. In January 1965, the authorities destroyed the small village church. In September 1978, the last family left the village, after which all the buildings in the village were demolished and the land leveled.
History
Billmuthausen is first mentioned in historical records in 1340 under the name of Billmuthehusen and in 1528 under the name of Bylmethausen. In 1840, the village had 14 households, a mill and a church. A decade later, the village's population stood at 68.The former site of the village is now a memorial with a marker stone and cross, and a new chapel is located at the site of destroyed church. All that remains is the village cemetery, a transformation tower and the village well. In 1991 the book Billmuthausen-das verurteilte Dorf was published about the village. There is an annual ceremony to commemorate the history of the village.