Saalfeld-Rudolstadt: the 2025 federal election result
In the federal election on 23 February 2025, AfD led in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt with 44.0% of the second votes, followed by CDU with 16.9%. Below, the results of all 26 municipalities.
- District Administrator
- Marko Wolfram (SPD), since 2014 · Wikidata
- Population
- 98,386 · 98 per km²
- Largest sector
- Manufacturing 27%
- Turnout
- 80.0% · Thuringia 80.7% · Germany 82.5%
- Voters
- 65,909 of 82,413 eligible voters
- Compared with Thuringia
- AfD +5.4 · CDU −1.7 · Linke −1.9 · BSW +0.9
- AfD range across municipalities
- 38.8% to 68.1%
Second votes in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
Deviation from the state result in points.
Where do these figures come from?
Official results of the 2025 federal election from the Federal Returning Officer's district file, second votes per district.
What does the comparison show?
The lighter bar is the state result of the same election, so you can see where the area differs from its state. Differences are in percentage points.
Source: Federal Returning Officer, 2025 federal election, results by independent city and district (file), final result, retrieved 7 Sep 2026, Data licence Germany, attribution 2.0. Compiled by wahlergebnisse.io.
2024 European election in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
In the European election on 9 June 2024, AfD came first in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt with 35.1% of the vote; in Thuringia AfD got 30.7%. The bars show the European election shares, the small figures the gap to the 2025 federal election in the same area.
In the 2024 European election, AfD was the strongest party in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt with 35.1%, −8.9 points compared with the 2025 federal election. Turnout was 58.5% (2025 federal election: 80.0%).
Why do the European and federal elections differ?
The European election has no electoral threshold, so small parties such as Volt, Die PARTEI or the animal-welfare party win more votes. Turnout is much lower, and the political mood shifted between June 2024 and February 2025. The single European-election vote is compared with the second vote of the federal election in the same area; parties that count as Others in 2025 get no difference.
Where do these figures come from?
Official final result of the 2024 European election from the Federal Returning Officer (kerg2.csv), votes per district and independent city.
| Party | Votes 2024 | European election 2024 | Federal election 2025 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AfD | 17,307 | 35.1% | 44.0% | -8.9 |
| CDU | 9,890 | 20.1% | 16.9% | +3.2 |
| BSW | 9,115 | 18.5% | 10.3% | +8.2 |
| SPD | 3,578 | 7.3% | 7.7% | -0.4 |
| Linke | 2,350 | 4.8% | 13.3% | -8.5 |
| Grüne | 1,250 | 2.5% | 2.6% | -0.1 |
| Die PARTEI | 962 | 2.0% | – | – |
| FDP | 825 | 1.7% | 2.7% | -1.0 |
| Freie Wähler | 795 | 1.6% | 1.7% | -0.1 |
| Tierschutzpartei | 426 | 0.9% | – | – |
| Volt | 416 | 0.8% | 0.4% | +0.4 |
| ÖDP | 84 | 0.2% | – | – |
| Others | 2,248 | 4.6% | – | – |
Die PARTEI, Tierschutzpartei, ÖDP: counted as Others in the 2025 federal election, so no difference is shown.
Source: Federal Returning Officer, 2024 European election, results by state and district (kerg2.csv) (file), final result, retrieved 28 Sep 2026, Data licence Germany, attribution 2.0. Berlin East and Berlin West are aggregated from the boroughs as in the 2025 federal election. Comparison values: second votes of the 2025 federal election in the same area. Compiled by wahlergebnisse.io.
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt in figures
Key facts about the place from official statistics and Wikidata, so the election result can be put in context. The figures describe, they do not explain.
- Population
- 98,386 (as of 2025-12-31)
- Area
- 1,008.8 km²
- Population density
- 98 inhabitants per km²
- Under 19
- 14.9%
- 67 and older
- 26.9%
- Foreign nationals (2022 census)
- 3.5%
- Employees subject to social insurance (place of work)
- 33,268 (as of 2025-12-31)
- Largest sectors
- Manufacturing 27% · Health and social work 23% · Trade and vehicle repair 12%
- Commuter balance
- -5,674 (more out-commuters than in-commuters)
- Unemployment rate
- 6.3% (as of 2026-09)
- Stahlwerk Thüringen
- 687 employees (2011)
- Rösel & Hercher Orgelbau
- 6 employees
- District seat
- Saalfeld/Saale
- Municipalities
- 26
- Elevation
- 668 m
- Website
- www.kreis-slf.de
- Wikipedia
- Saalfeld-Rudolstadt (Wikipedia)
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt has 98,386 inhabitants. The largest sector is Manufacturing with 27% of employees. The largest company headquartered in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt is Stahlwerk Thüringen with 687 employees. The unemployment rate is 6.3%.
Where do the profile figures come from?
Population, area and coordinates from the Federal Statistical Office's municipality register, employees, sectors and unemployment from the Federal Employment Agency, age structure from the 2022 census, coat of arms, website and companies from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons. All sources are openly licensed and linked below the list.
Does the profile explain the election result?
No. It describes the place so readers can put figures in context. Whether sector, age or density relate to voting can only be tested across many places, not from a single result.
Sources: Wikidata (CC0 1.0) · Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), Gemeindeverzeichnis GV-ISys (Datenlizenz Deutschland – Namensnennung – Version 2.0) · Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (© Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Nutzung mit Quellenangabe) · Zensus 2022, Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder, Regionaltabelle Demografie (Datenlizenz Deutschland – Namensnennung – Version 2.0)
Strongest party by municipality in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
Tap to open the municipality result. Labels appear on the largest municipalities by area; all values are in the table below.
Strongest party: AfD in 26 municipalities of 26. Highest share: AfD with 68.1% in Altenbeuthen.
What does the map show?
Each municipality is coloured by the party with the highest second-vote share at the 2025 federal election; the intensity follows the share. Postal votes counted at the level of a joint administration are shown on the administration's page. Click a municipality for its full result.
All municipalities in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
Sorted by number of voters. Range across the district: AfD 38.8 to 68.1%, CDU 5.3 to 24.6%, Linke 5.9 to 17%, BSW 5.2 to 11.6%, SPD 1.8 to 11.7%, FDP 0.9 to 4.5%, Grüne 0 to 3.2%.
| Municipality | Voters | Turnout | AfD | CDU | Linke | BSW | SPD | FDP | Grüne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saalfeld/Saale | 18,567 | 79.3% | 41.2 | 17.0 | 15.5 | 9.7 | 8.3 | 2.7 | 3.2 |
| Rudolstadt | 15,539 | 77.4% | 39.8 | 17.6 | 14.1 | 11.4 | 8.5 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| Unterwellenborn | 5,619 | 82.9% | 47.1 | 16.4 | 11.2 | 9.9 | 6.8 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| Bad Blankenburg | 3,825 | 79.3% | 43.6 | 17.1 | 15.0 | 9.4 | 7.4 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| Königsee | 3,788 | 64.3% | 54.3 | 14.1 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 1.1 |
| Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel | 3,745 | 82.2% | 45.9 | 18.8 | 11.8 | 9.2 | 6.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
| Schwarzatal | 2,324 | 81.5% | 48.9 | 16.4 | 10.9 | 10.9 | 6.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| Probstzella | 1,438 | 62.1% | 52.2 | 12.9 | 10.0 | 10.2 | 8.7 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Kaulsdorf | 1,400 | 70.1% | 53.4 | 15.4 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| Leutenberg | 1,352 | 83.0% | 46.3 | 16.4 | 11.6 | 10.2 | 7.6 | 2.5 | 3.1 |
| Briefwahl EG Königsee, Stadt | 1,032 | – | 30.0 | 23.2 | 14.9 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Gräfenthal | 1,001 | 64.2% | 49.0 | 18.5 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 6.4 | 3.0 | 1.4 |
| Briefwahl VVG Schiefergebirge | 901 | – | 29.0 | 19.9 | 13.3 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
| Briefwahl VVG Schwarzatal ohne Stadt Schwarzatal | 770 | – | 36.1 | 22.9 | 12.9 | 14.5 | 7.2 | 2.0 | 1.8 |
| Lehesten | 716 | 57.1% | 53.7 | 12.1 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 1.5 |
| Katzhütte | 653 | 62.5% | 61.4 | 11.6 | 7.7 | 10.8 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 0.2 |
| Briefwahl EG Kaulsdorf | 392 | – | 31.3 | 19.9 | 18.9 | 11.1 | 9.8 | 2.3 | 3.9 |
| Unterweißbach | 385 | 65.3% | 53.9 | 18.1 | 8.4 | 9.9 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 2.1 |
| Sitzendorf | 373 | 58.2% | 53.2 | 16.9 | 10.5 | 9.7 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| Drognitz | 308 | 65.1% | 61.8 | 11.4 | 6.9 | 8.8 | 5.6 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Schwarzburg | 293 | 69.6% | 56.2 | 9.0 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 5.9 | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| Cursdorf | 285 | 58.9% | 47.1 | 17.9 | 14.6 | 8.9 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Meura | 231 | 73.1% | 56.5 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 11.3 | 9.6 | 2.2 | 0.4 |
| Allendorf | 195 | 70.9% | 59.6 | 13.0 | 9.3 | 9.8 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Deesbach | 190 | 67.6% | 65.3 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 2.6 | 1.1 |
| Altenbeuthen | 138 | 82.6% | 68.1 | 8.9 | 5.9 | 8.1 | 5.2 | 3.0 | – |
| Döschnitz | 135 | 74.6% | 38.8 | 24.6 | 11.9 | 6.7 | 8.2 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Rohrbach | 116 | 76.3% | 56.0 | 15.5 | 10.3 | 5.2 | 8.6 | 0.9 | 2.6 |
| Bechstedt | 103 | 80.5% | 52.4 | 10.7 | 14.6 | 6.8 | 11.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Hohenwarte | 95 | 79.2% | 55.3 | 5.3 | 17.0 | 10.6 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 1.1 |
Source: Federal Returning Officer, 2025 federal election, results by polling district (file), final result, retrieved 7 Sep 2026, Data licence Germany, attribution 2.0. Municipal results are the sum of a municipality's polling districts including the postal-vote districts assigned to it. Compiled by wahlergebnisse.io.