  We show that in certain limits the (1+1)-dimensional massive Thirring model
at finite temperature $T$ is equivalent to a one-dimensional Coulomb gas of
charged particles at the same $T$. This equivalence is then used to explore the
phase structure of the massive Thirring model. For strong coupling and $T>>m$
(the fermion mass) the system is shown to behave as a free gas of "molecules"
(charge pairs in the Coulomb gas terminology) made of pairs of chiral
condensates. This binding of chiral condensates is responsible for the
restoration of chiral symmetry as $T\to\infty$. In addition, when a fermion
chemical potential $\mu\neq 0$ is included, the analogy with a Coulomb gas
still holds with $\mu$ playing the role of a purely imaginary external electric
field. For small $T$ and $\mu$ we find a typical massive Fermi gas behaviour
for the fermion density, whereas for large $\mu$ it shows chiral restoration by
means of a vanishing effective fermion mass. Some similarities with the chiral
properties of low-energy QCD at finite $T$ and baryon chemical potential are
discussed.
