The district of Breitenbach belongs to the town of Schleusingen. According to documents, its first documentary mention dates back to the year 1144. In earlier times, Breitenbach was a so-called "forest village". Forestry, charcoal burning and agriculture were the main occupations of the inhabitants until the 20th century. In addition, there were cutting mills, blacksmiths and nail smiths, a scythe hammer, but also a weaving mill (in 1870, there are said to have been 32 master weavers with 65 looms in the village).
Today, Breitenbach is a modern residential village with over 800 inhabitants, making it the second largest of the Saint Kilian villages.

It has been significantly influenced by tourism since 1957. Breitenbach was a "state-recognized resort" until March 2015 and is home to the Vessertal, a nature reserve (NSG) that gave its name to the UNESCO biosphere reserve "Vessertal", in a large part of its land.