All Topics  
Gotha (town)

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Gotha (town)
 
 
  Topics Gotha (town) Topic Home

Gotha is a town in Thuringia
Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen States of Germany ....
, within the central core of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
. It is the capital of the district of Gotha
Gotha (district)

Gotha is a Kreis in the middle of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Unstrut-Hainich, S?mmerda , the district-free city Erfurt, Ilm-Kreis, Schmalkalden-Meiningen and the Wartburgkreis....
.

town has existed at least since the 8th century, when its name was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne
Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
, in which it appears as Villa Gotaha ("Good Waters"). Its importance derives from having been chosen in 1640 as the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha
Saxe-Gotha

Saxe-Gotha was a short-lived duchy in today's Thuringia, Germany.File:Schloss Friedenstein Gotha.JPGIt was established in 1640, when Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar created a subdivision for his younger brother Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha....
. In the 18th century, an extended stay by the French philosopher Voltaire
Voltaire

Fran?ois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Age of Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosophy known for his wit, philosophical sport, and defense of civil liberty, including freedom of religion and free trade....
 turned the court into one of the centres of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century, in which rationalism was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
 in Germany.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Gotha (town)'
Start a new discussion about 'Gotha (town)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Gotha is a town in Thuringia
Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen States of Germany ....
, within the central core of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
. It is the capital of the district of Gotha
Gotha (district)

Gotha is a Kreis in the middle of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Unstrut-Hainich, S?mmerda , the district-free city Erfurt, Ilm-Kreis, Schmalkalden-Meiningen and the Wartburgkreis....
.

History

The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when its name was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne
Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
, in which it appears as Villa Gotaha ("Good Waters"). Its importance derives from having been chosen in 1640 as the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha
Saxe-Gotha

Saxe-Gotha was a short-lived duchy in today's Thuringia, Germany.File:Schloss Friedenstein Gotha.JPGIt was established in 1640, when Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar created a subdivision for his younger brother Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha....
. In the 18th century, an extended stay by the French philosopher Voltaire
Voltaire

Fran?ois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Age of Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosophy known for his wit, philosophical sport, and defense of civil liberty, including freedom of religion and free trade....
 turned the court into one of the centres of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century, in which rationalism was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
 in Germany. From 1826 to 1918, Gotha was one of the two capitals of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Gotha has played an important role in the Germany's workers' movement: the German socialist
Socialism

Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating public or state ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equality for all individuals, with a fair or Egalitarianism method of compensation....
 party (SPD) was founded here in 1875, by the merging of two organizations: the Social Democratic Workers' Party, led by August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht
Wilhelm Liebknecht

Wilhelm Liebknecht was a Germany social democrat, one of the founders of the SPD and father of Karl Liebknecht and Theodor Liebknecht....
, and the General German Workers' Association
General German Workers' Association

The General German Workers' Association, in German language Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein, ADAV) was founded on 23 May 1863 by Ferdinand Lassalle and existed under this name until 1875, when it combined with August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht's Social Democratic Workers' Party to form the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany, which...
, founded by Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle

Ferdinand Lassalle was a Germans-Jewish jurist and socialism political activist....
. The compromise was known as the Gotha Program and was strongly criticized by Karl Marx
Karl Marx

Karl Heinrich Marx was a Germanphilosophy, political economy, historian, sociologist, humanism, political theorist and revolutionary credited as the founder of communism....
 in its time for its reformist bias (see Critique of the Gotha Program
Critique of the Gotha Program

The Critique of the Gotha Program is a document based on a letter by Karl Marx written in early May 1875 to the Eisenach faction of the German social democratic movement, with whom Marx and Friedrich Engels were in close association....
).

Gotha has also been traditionally a centre of publishing. The firm of Justus Perthes
Justus Perthes

Johann Georg Justus Perthes , was a Germany publisher and founder of the firm that bears his name .He was born in Rudolstadt. In 1785 he founded the Justus Perthes publishing firm 'Justus Perthes Geographische Anstalt Gotha' in Gotha ....
 (now called Hermann Haack) began in 1763 the publication of the Almanach de Gotha
Almanach de Gotha

The Almanach de Gotha was a respected directory of Europe's highest nobility and Royal family. First published by Justus Perthes in 1763 at the duke court of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, it was regarded as an authority in the classification of monarchies, ducal houses, families of former ruler...
, an authoritative directory of the world's major ruling dynasties and Europe's high nobility.

From 1949 to 1990 the city of Gotha belonged to the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic

The German Democratic Republic was a self-declared socialist state created in the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany and the East Berlin of Allied Occupation Zones in Germany....
.

Sights


  • The main attraction in the town is the Schloss Friedenstein, the former ducal palace, built in 1643-1655. This imposing rectangular structure, with low square towers on the corners, is Germany’s oldest early Baroque palace. The Palace Museum is home to valuable historic collections of art and cultural artefacts. The palace also houses the Museum of Regional History including the historic Ekhof Theatre, the oldest preserved baroque theatre in the world.
  • Town Hall, built between 1567 and 1577 in Renaissance style, noteworthy for a richly decorated façade in its north side.
  • A Market place (Hauptmarkt) surrounded by restored patrician houses with Baroque doorways.
  • Augustinian Church (Gothic, 13th century), with former abbey.
  • St Margaret’s Church (Margarethenkirche), from the end of the 15th century.
  • Gotha is host to the annual Freakstock
    Freakstock

    Freakstock is an annual Christian music festival held by members of the German Jesus Freaks movement. First held in Wiesbaden in 1995, the festival was moved to Gotha in 1997....
     Christian music festival.


Sister cities

Martin
Martin, Slovakia

Martin is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec River , under the Mal? Fatra mountains, near the city of ?ilina. The population numbers approximately 59,000, which makes it the eighth largest city in Slovakia....
, Slovakia
Slovakia

Slovakia . It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements....
 Gastonia, North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
 USA Kielce
Kielce

Kielce is a city in central Poland with 202,609 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship ....
 Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
 Romilly-sur-Seine
Romilly-sur-Seine

Romilly-sur-Seine is a Communes of the Aube department in the Aube Departments of France in north-central France.Romilly-sur-Seine is twinned with Milford Haven, Wales as well as Gotha and L?denscheid, Germany....
 France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 Salzgitter
Salzgitter

Salzgitter is a city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Salzgitter is an independent city#Germany....


External links

  • (in German)
  • (in English)