A resistance furnace has a tubular heating element with a vertically-oriented longitudinal axis. The heating element has a shell surface defined by an upper side and a lower side and surrounding a furnace chamber. The heating element is connected to at least two supply terminals by which heating current is introduced at power supply points into the heating element. The supply terminals include a surrounding upper annular collar adjacent the upper side of the shell surface, and also a surrounding lower annular collar adjacent the lower side of the shell surface.