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Gotha
Gotha
Top left:Saint Margaret Church, Top right:Marstall, Middle left:Fridenstein Castle Park, Middle right:Rathaus Gotha in Hauptmark, Bottom left:View of Christmas Illumination event in Hauptmarket Square, Bottom middle:Porch in Saint Margaret Church, Bottom right:Bruhl Street
Country Germany
State Thuringia
Admin. region
District Gotha
Founded
First mentioned
Subdivisions 11
Government
 • Mayor Knut Kreuch (SPD)
Area
 • Total 69.52 km2 (26.84 sq mi)
Elevation 300 m (1,000 ft)
Population (2010-12-31)[1]
 • Total 45,593
 • Density 660/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 99867
Dialling codes 03621
Vehicle registration GTH
Website www.gotha.de

Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the Gotha District.

History[]

Gotha1572

Friedenstein Castle in 1572

The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha ("Good Waters"). Its importance derives from having been chosen in 1640 as the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha. In the 18th century, the extended séjour of the French philosopher Voltaire turned the court into one of the centres of the Enlightenment 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 German workers' movement. The German socialist party (SPD) was founded in Gotha in 1875, through the merger of two organizations: the Social Democratic Workers' Party, led by August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht, and the General German Workers' Association, founded by Ferdinand Lassalle. A compromise known as the Gotha Program was forged, although it had been strongly criticized by Karl Marx for its reformist bias in his Critique of the Gotha Program.

This is the city where the famous psychologist and anthropologist Theodor Waitz was born in 1821.

Gotha also has been a centre of publishing. The firm Justus Perthes (now called Hermann Haack) began the publication in 1763 of the Almanach de Gotha, an authoritative directory of the world's major ruling dynasties and Europe's high nobility.

From 1949 to 1990, Gotha was part of the German Democratic Republic.

Sights[]

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-37296-0001, Gotha, Schloss Friedenstein

Schloss Friedenstein

  • 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 artifacts. 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 north façade.
  • 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 Christian music festival.
  • One of Europe's first working crematories was built here in 1878.

International relations[]

Gotha is twinned with:

References[]

External links[]

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Template:Cities and towns in Gotha (district)

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Gotha. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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