A resistance furnace known per se comprises a tubular heating element (2) with a vertical longitudinal axis (3), said element having a lateral surface that is delimited by an upper and lower side and surrounding a furnace chamber. The element is connected by means of at least two electric connections, the latter enabling a heating current to be introduced at current supply points into the heating element. The aim of the invention is to develop this known furnace to obtain an electric resistance furnace, in particular a high-performance resistance furnace, which is characterised by low production and maintenance costs, in addition to high operational reliability and permits an axially and radially homogeneous temperature profile to be set inside the furnace. To achieve this, the current connections have an upper annular collar (7), located in the vicinity of the upper side (11) and a lower annular collar (8), located in the vicinity of the lower side (12).