Ohrdruf is located on the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest on the Ohra River, the extensive floodplain landscape on one side and the nearby mountains of the Thuringian Forest on the other provide a green setting for a small town with a great history. The origin of Ohrdruf is traced back to the time around 724/725, when Boniface unfolded his work in Thuringia. In 777, Lullus, the most zealous disciple of Boniface and his successor on the archbishop's chair in Mainz, consecrated the Petri Church on the right bank of the Ohra. In 980, the Petri Church was connected by the Hersfeld Abbey, which was richly endowed in Thuringia, with an Augustinian canonry endowed for 15 canons. Through the foundation of this monastery, Ohrdruf became the center of the extensive Hersfeld possessions and later the headquarters of ecclesiastical jurisdiction for all of southwestern Thuringia. Ohrdruf was able to maintain this important position until well into the 14th century. It was not until 1344 that the monastery was moved to Gotha, as Ohrdruf did not provide sufficient security for the ecclesiastical lords in the Count's War raging at that time. Ohrdruf received compensation for the loss suffered when the Counts of Käfernburg entrusted the office of Schultheißen over Ohrdruf to the Lords of Tonna and Counts of Gleichen. They administered the office energetically and benevolently for almost 300 years and made Ohrdruf their residence and the center of the county of Obergleichen in 1550 with the construction of Ehrenstein Castle. The first mention of the acquisition of the town charter dates back to 1348. In the years 1611, 1625/26 and 1635/36, the plague swept the country and cost the lives of more than half the population of the town and the surrounding area. - 1700 Johann Sebastian Bach stayed with his older brother Johann Christoph Bach in Ohrdruf. This 5-year stay and the work of Johann Christoph Bach and his descendants raise Ohrdruf to the rank of a real "Bach town".The great fires of 1510, 1753 and 1808 destroyed not only valuable buildings and presumably also records, deeds, liberties and justices. For example, on the night of January 5 to 6, 1808, the old Renaissance town hall, the half-timbered houses on the market, the Michaelis church and the home of the organist Johann Christoph Bach were destroyed by fire within two hours.In the middle of the 19th century, renowned companies in the porcelain, doll and toy industries settled in Ohrdruf. With a multitude of new inventions and patents (rocking horse, character baby 1910, doll head with sleeping eyes 1911, doll head with voice 1912), the development was significantly determined and supplied not only the domestic market, but also England, Canada and America in particular.