Unterhof Manor

The exact construction time of this building is still unknown. Although the year 1334 can be seen on the bay window side, it cannot be definitively stated today that this stone with the year was always part of the building. Only the beams in the basement could be dated to a period from 1533 to 1665. OBERHOF and UNTERHOF were built by the Lords of Uetterodt, who were the last owners of Scharfenberg Castle and Lordship.

The Gotha historian Johann Georg Brückner writes about this:
"after Scharffenberg was razed, the noblemen erected their knight's seat down in the valley; as there are two noble houses there; a large old stone building, which belongs to all the Lords of Uetterodt, but is not inhabited by them, then a comfortable house, next to a spacious courtyard, barns and stables, also a pretty garden..."

The "witch trials" carried out in the 17th century attest to the UNTERHOF as a spiritual lower court - patrimonial court of the Uetterodt Lordship of Scharfenberg. Through the sale of the Scharfenberg Lordship, the Thal court received the designation "Ducal Saxon. Court Office in Thal". In 1923 it became "Thuringian District Court Thal-Heiligenstein". After the end of the war (1948), the district court was dissolved, and from 1949 until 1994, the old venerable building served as the town hall of Thal. With the incorporation of Thal on July 1, 1994, the historic UNTERHOF lost its significance as a town hall and now houses the Ruhla registry office.