The town of Hirschberg is located in the Saale-Orla district in the Thuringian Sea tourist region. It was first mentioned in a document from 1296. In 1479, the Bohemian King Wladislaw confirmed important town rights, such as the right to brew beer and fish. Due to centuries of disputes with the respective castle lords, the city rights often had to be rewritten in Prague. The town's economic profile was dominated by leather production until 1992. In the first half of the 20th century, a small tannery developed into the largest sole leather factory in Germany, the leather factory of Heinrich Maximilian Knoch. During the GDR era, the VEB leather factory produced around 30 different types of leather and more than 2 million square meters of upper leather every year. After going bankrupt in 1992, the leather factory was demolished, which was completed in 1996. The former office building now houses the Museum of Tanning and City History, which collects and preserves documents and objects relating to the history of tanning.