From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gotha
is a town in
Thuringia
, in
Germany
. It is the capital of the
District of Gotha
. The population was 46,205 in 2004.
The town has existed at least since the
8th century
, when its name was mentioned in a document signed by
Charlemagne
, in which it appears as
Villa Gotaha
("Good Waters"). In 1640 Gotha became the
capital city
of
Saxe-Gotha
. In the 18th century the French philosopher
Voltaire
stayed for a long time, and the Royal court became 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 and Gotha
.
Gotha has played an important role in the Germany's workers' movement: the German
socialist
party (
SPD
) was founded in Gotha in 1875, when the Social Democratic Workers' Party, led by
August Bebel
and
Wilhelm Liebknecht
, and the
General German Workers' Association
, founded by
Ferdinand Lassalle
joined together. The compromise was known the
Gotha Program
and was opposed by
Karl Marx
.
Gotha has also been traditionally a centre of publishing. The firm of
Justus Perthes
(now called
Hermann Haack
) began publishing the
Almanach de Gotha
in 1763. The almanach was a very important directory of the world's major ruling dynasties and Europe's high nobility.
From 1949 to 1990 the city of Gotha was in the
German Democratic Republic
.
- The main attraction in the town is the
Schloß Friedenstein
, the former ducal palace, built in 1643-1655. It is Germany’s oldest early
Baroque
palace. 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 facade 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
Christian music festival.
Media related to
Gotha
at Wikimedia Commons