The largest village in the municipality (180 m above sea level, 827 inhabitants) was first mentioned in a document in 1083 as Olstede.

However, archaeological finds from the early Iron Age (Hallstatt culture) indicate a Celtic settlement as early as the 7th/6th century BC. Uhlstädt was granted market rights in 1710. The market town was known far and wide along the Saale as a rafting town. A porcelain factory existed from 1837 to 1990 and parts of the church date back to the 12th century. Worth seeing are the aqueduct built in 1786 to carry the Uhlsbach over the Mühllache, the remains of a water mill with a rare double wheel system and a coat of arms stone of the von Kochberg family from 1532 on a house next to the old school with the letters V.D.M.I.E., the first letters of the Protestant slogan "Verbum domini manet in aeterum", translated: "The word of God remains forever". From shortly before the turn of the century until 1910, the Thuringian local poet Marthe Renate Fischer (1851 - 1925) lived and worked in Uhlstädt. From here, she explored the charming surroundings of her home town and wrote her most important novels, which reflect life in and around Uhlstädt at the time. The episode "The Raft Trip" from her novel "The Godchild" was an integral part of Thuringian reading books in the 1920s and 1930s.

Uhlstädt's life is largely shaped by the choir community (with male and female choirs), the sports club, the youth club Uhlstädt e.V., the fire department association and the raftsmen's association. A new sports and club center was opened in 1995. Ball games and tennis courts, a bowling alley and a badminton hall are available.

In the immediate vicinity of the sports center is the rafting museum with tourist information.

In Uhlstädt there are guest rooms, several restaurants and halls for events. Tourist raft trips lasting several hours can be made from Kirchhasel or Weißen to Uhlstädt. A supra-regional rafting festival is celebrated every Whitsun in the odd-numbered years, as well as singers' festivals and the fair.

Uhlstädt has several shopping facilities, medical and dental practices, a pharmacy and financial institutions.

There is a state elementary school in the village as well as a day care center run by Volkssolidarität e.V. and a children's and youth home run by Arbeiterwohlfahrt.

The Uhlstädter Heide, a legendary forest area, with its remarkable tree and animal population, comfortable hiking trails, shelters and a nature trail has always been a destination for hikers, as well as the Kienberg and the Kreuzenberg, located in the north of Uhlstädt.

From the Kienberghäuschen you have a magnificent view over the Saale valley and the heath to the mountain ranges of the Thuringian Forest.

Uhlstädt with its districts Ober- und Kleinkrossen, Partschefeld, Rückersdorf, Weißbach and Weißen is a state-approved resort.