King consort of Portugal, Carlota, Empress consort of Mexico, Ferdinand I, King of Bulgaria, Sofía, Queen consort of Spain, Princess of Greece and Denmark, Maud, Queen consort of Norway, and Marie, Queen consort of Romania. During the time of Duke Ernest III in 1826, the neighbouring ducal line of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg became extinct. Ernest received the former Saxe-Gotha but in exchange had to give up Saalfeld in favour of his Ernestine cousin Duke Bernhard II of Saxe-Meiningen. Modern times On 10 October 1806 a united Prussian and Saxon contingent met with a corps of the French Grande Armée under Marshall Jean Lannes at the Battle of Saalfeld, whereby Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia was killed. The opening of the Leipzig-Probstzella railway further boosted the town's development. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, Saalfeld became part of the newly established Free State of Thuringia. As a railway junction and garrison town of the Wehrmacht armed forces from 1936, it was strongly affected by strategic bombing during World War II. Upon the post-World War II division of Germany, Saalfeld was an Inner-German border station on the Saal Railway—one of two routes that could be taken by trains between Leipzig/Halle and Nuremberg. As a border station its steam locomotive shed assumed extra importance as Saalfeld essentially became the southern terminus of GDR train services. Due to the continued use of steam locomotives in East Germany after the end of steam working in West Germany, the area became a mecca for railway enthusiasts for some years. However, despite being very close to the Inner German border to the south, it was only accessible by a very roundabout route. In July 2018 the former municipalities of Saalfelder Höhe and Wittgendorf were merged into Saalfeld. The former municipalities Reichmannsdorf and Schmiedefeld were merged into Saalfeld in January 2019. Economy Traditionally, Saalfeld was known for its silver mines. Today, Saalfeld has a number of prosperous industries, including the manufacture of machinery, bricks, paint, malt, cigars, hosiery, chocolate and vinegar. Other industries are brewing, printing and iron-founding, and there are ochre and iron mines in the area. Tourism and recreation-related activities make up a significant part of the local economy. Saalfeld is located in the mountainous forests of Thuringia, a province well known for its winter sports, supplying half of the gold medals for overall medal table winner Germany in the 2006 and