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76-665: Joseph Kürschner (20 September 1853, in Gotha – 29 July 1902, on a journey to Huben ) was a German author and editor most often cited for his critical edition of classics from German literature . At first engaged in mechanical engineering , he afterwards studied at the University of Leipzig . Then he lived several years in Berlin . He then managed the Stuttgart periodical Vom Fels zum Meer (1881–89). From 1880 to 1882, he

152-489: A tram network with three lines, connecting the city centre with the main station in the south-east, the east station in the north-east and the hospital in Sundhausen district in the south-west. A peculiarity is the 22 km (14 mi) long Thüringerwaldbahn  [ de ] (established in 1929), one of Germany's last traditional interurban tramway lines, to Bad Tabarz , Waltershausen and Friedrichroda . It

228-481: A bit higher in the city itself than in the other municipalities of the Gotha district. Agriculture is still important in the region around Gotha with its fertile soil. More than 60% of the municipal territory is in agricultural use for growing maize, crops, vegetables and sugar beets. Vehicle construction is still the most important industry in Gotha. The well-known Gothaer Waggonfabrik had two successors after 1990:

304-531: A centre of engineering with companies like the Gothaer Waggonfabrik , a tram and airplane manufacturer, founded in 1883. During the 19th century, Gotha also became a centre of banking and the insurance business in Germany. Ernst-Wilhelm Arnoldi founded the first fire insurance in 1820, followed by the first life insurance in 1827. The Gothaer  [ de ] mutual insurance remains one of

380-529: A leading centre of German publishing around 1800. In the early 19th century, Gotha was a birthplace of the German insurance business. The SPD was founded in Gotha in 1875 by merging two predecessors. In that period Gotha became an industrial centre, with companies such as the Gothaer Waggonfabrik , a producer of trams and later aeroplanes. The main sights of Gotha are the early-modern Friedenstein Castle, one of

456-457: A relatively large share of ruined historic buildings remains characteristic for Gotha (in comparison to neighbouring cities like Eisenach, Erfurt or Weimar), especially within the historic new town and the 19th century belt around the city centre. The government sometimes failed to conserve historic buildings, for example the Volkshaus zum Mohren  [ de ] was demolished in 2007, as

532-499: A relatively successful city. Gotha is situated in a flat landscape within the fertile Thuringian Basin . A tectonic dislocation traverses the city from north-west to south-east. Thereby, it forms three prominent hills: the 431 m high Krahnberg with the Ratsholz forest in the north-west, the hill of Friedenstein Castle in the city centre and the 409 m high Seeberg in the south-east. The city itself lies at an elevation of 300 m and

608-647: A role in Polish history – two Wettins were Kings of Poland (between 1697–1763) and a third ruled the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1814) as a satellite of Napoleon I . After the Napoleonic Wars , the Albertine branch lost about 40% of its lands (the economically less-developed northern parts of the old Electorate of Saxony) to Prussia, restricting it to a territory coextensive with the modern Saxony (see Final Act of

684-407: A short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas are situated within the administrative city borders. During the 1990s and the early 2000s, many inhabitants left Gotha to search for a better life in west Germany or other major east German cities like Jena or Erfurt . Since 2005, emigration is not a big issue anymore. Today, the birth deficit, caused by the high average age of the population,

760-466: A significant power in the region, and used small appanage fiefs for its cadet branches, few of which survived for significant lengths of time. The Ernestine Wettins, on the other hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory, creating an intricate patchwork of small duchies and counties in Thuringia. The Albertine Wettins ruled as Electors (1547–1806) and Kings of Saxony (1806–1918), and also played

836-780: A sister of the childless former head of the Albertines, Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen (died 2012), who had adopted his nephew and granted him the name Prince of Saxony, contrary to the rules of male descent under the Salic Law . Both are however not recognized by the Nobility Archive in Marburg, nor by the Conference of the Formerly Ruling Houses in Germany – Prince Rüdiger because his father Timo

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912-460: A standard work in teaching political science at Protestant universities in Germany. Friedenstein Castle was built between 1643 and 1654 and is one of the first large Baroque residence castles in Germany. Between 1657 and 1676, the city received a stronger fortification, which was demolished between 1772 and 1811. In their place, a park around Friedenstein and a boulevard around the city were established. Some important scientific institutions were

988-476: Is Frankfurt Airport , approximately 250 km (155 mi) to the south-west. Biking is becoming more and more popular since the construction of quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s. For tourists there is the long-distance Radweg Thüringer Städtekette (Thuringian city string trail). It connects points of touristic interest along the medieval Via Regia from Eisenach via Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar and Jena to Altenburg . The public transport system consists of

1064-459: Is becoming a bigger problem because immigration is not sufficient to compensate for it in recent years. Despite urban planning activities to tear down unused flats, vacancy was a problem with rates around 9% in 2011 but declined to 4% in 2017. A side effect of the high vacancy rate is Gotha's low rent level. The birth deficit was 175 in 2012, this is -3.9 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: -4.5; national average: -2.4). The net migration rate

1140-481: Is divided in 11 districts. The urban districts are Mitte, Weststadt, West, Nord, Süd, Oststadt and Ost and the rural districts are Boilstädt (incorporated in 1994), Siebleben (1922), Sundhausen (1974) and Uelleben (1994). Gotha has long been one of the largest towns in Thuringia. During the Middle Ages, it was a town of 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants and its selection as a ducal residence brought another impetus during

1216-420: Is situated in the east of Gotha, a new one developed after 1990 in the south. Further, the neighbouring small towns of Waltershausen and Ohrdruf have strong industrial cores, where many commuters from Gotha have found work. As a former state capital (until 1920) and then district capital, Gotha is also a hub of public and private services. The city centre hosts some retailing and at the south-western periphery

1292-506: Is used both for everyday traffic and by tourists. Buses serve urban quarters and nearby villages lacking a tram or rail connection. There are three state-run Gymnasiums in Gotha, including the famous Ernestine Gymnasium . In addition, the Thüringer Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung (school of public administration) with 500 students has its seat in Gotha, as has the school of Thuringia's ministry of finance and

1368-615: The Bibliographisches Institut , one of the two leading encyclopedia publishers in the German language besides the Brockhaus and Adolf Stieler first published his Handatlas in Gotha in 1816. Johann Adam Weishaupt , the founder of the order of the Illuminati, died in Gotha in 1830. It was also during this time, that the city developed a sizeable Jewish population. From 1826 to 1918, Gotha along with Coburg

1444-551: The 2011 EU census ). In contrast to the national average, the largest groups of migrants in Gotha are Russians , Vietnamese and Ukrainians . Due to the official atheism of the former GDR , most of the population is non-religious. 18.2% are members of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and 4.8% are Catholics (according to the 2011 EU census). Gotha hosts various museums, which are – together with

1520-628: The Gothaer Fahrzeugwerke , a Schmitz Cargobull factory with 800 workers and the Gothaer Fahrzeugtechnik , a crane manufacturer with 400 employees. The brewery belongs to the Paulaner Brewery and has 300 employees. In 2012, there were 28 companies with more than 20 workers in the industrial sector, employing 3,300 people and generating a turnover of more than €850 million. The old industrial district

1596-922: The Harz ). Around 1000, the family acquired Wettin Castle , which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes (see Sorbs ), after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in Wettin in the Hassegau (or Hosgau) on the Saale River . Around 1030, the Wettin family received the Eastern March as a fief . The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March (or Ostmark ) caused Emperor Henry IV to invest them with

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1672-539: The Höhere Landesschule at Jena . On 15 August 1557, Emperor Ferdinand I awarded it the status of university. The Ernestine line was thereafter restricted to Thuringia and its dynastic unity swiftly crumbled, dividing into a number of smaller states, the Ernestine duchies . Nevertheless, with Ernst der Fromme , Duke of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675), the house gave rise to an important early-modern ruler who

1748-628: The March of Meissen as a fief in 1089. The family advanced over the course of the Middle Ages : in 1263, they inherited the landgraviate of Thuringia (although without Hesse ) and in 1423, they were invested with the Duchy of Saxony , centred at Wittenberg , thus becoming one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire . The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided

1824-545: The Schlosstheater and became Direktor of the first ever German court theatre (founded in 1683), while acting in many plays himself. Having turned it into one of the leading theatres in Germany, after his death in 1778 the fame of the theatre declined rapidly. The Almanach de Gotha , a directory of European royalty and nobility, was first published in 1763 and Justus Perthes founded his science publishing company in 1785. Joseph Meyer followed in 1826 by founding

1900-772: The Treaty of Leipzig : the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation . Many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch , the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . The Albertine branch , while less prominent, ruled most of Saxony and played a part in Polish history . Agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended

1976-541: The Via Regia from Mainz and Frankfurt to Leipzig and Breslau and a north–south route from Mühlhausen over the Thuringian Forest to Franconia . One of the oldest pieces of evidence of busy trade in the city is the "Gotha cache of coins" with nearly 800 Bracteates , buried in 1185 in the central city. In 1180, Gotha was first mentioned as a city, when the area between Brühl and Jüdenstraße became

2052-464: The "stud of Europe", by ascending the thrones of Belgium (in 1831), Portugal (1853–1910), Bulgaria (1908–1946) and the United Kingdom (1901-present, though the relevant marriage had taken place in 1840) and also providing a consort to the future Habsburg Emperor of Mexico (1857). The junior Albertine branch maintained most of the territorial integrity of Saxony, preserving it as

2128-435: The 17th and 18th century, so that Gotha had already more than 10,000 inhabitants by 1800. The number rose to 15,000 around 1850, as industrialisation started and the city was connected to the railway. The population saw a steady growth to 23,000 in 1875, 35,000 in 1900, 46,000 in 1925 and 58,000 in 1950, when the peak was reached. Until 1990, the population was roughly constant at around 57,000. After German reunification in 1990,

2204-559: The Albertine branch rallied to the Emperor's cause. Charles V had promised Moritz the rights to the electorship. After the Battle of Mühlberg , Johann Friedrich der Großmütige , had to cede territory (including Wittenberg) and the electorship to his cousin Moritz. Although imprisoned, Johann Friedrich was able to plan a new university. It was established by his three sons on 19 March 1548 as

2280-699: The British and Portuguese thrones became possessions of persons who belonged to the House of Wettin for a time. From King George I to Queen Victoria , the British Royal family was called the House of Hanover , being a junior branch of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg and thus part of the dynasty of the Guelphs . In the late 19th century, Queen Victoria charged the College of Arms in England to determine

2356-526: The British public (especially radical Republicans such as H. G. Wells ) to question the loyalty of the royal family. Advisors to King George V searched for an acceptable surname for the British royal family, but Wettin was rejected as "unsuitably comic". An Order in Council legally changed the name of the British royal family to "Windsor" (originally suggested by Lord Stamfordham ) in 1917. Branch of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Branch of Saxe-Meiningen In

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2432-659: The Congress of Vienna Act IV: Treaty between Prussia and Saxony 18 May 1815). Frederick Augustus III lost his throne in the German Revolution of 1918. The role of current head of the Albertine "House of Saxony" is claimed by his great-grandson Prince Rüdiger of Saxony , Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (born 23 December 1953). However, the headship of Prince Rüdiger is contested by his second cousin, Alexander (born 1954), son of Roberto Afif (later by change of name Mr Gessaphe) and Princess Maria Anna of Saxony,

2508-625: The Duke abdicated in 1918. A far-left government was elected in Gotha in 1919 and worked against both the Weimar National Assembly and the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch in 1920 bringing the city to the edge of a civil war. After a referendum, the state of Gotha joined the newly created Freistaat Thuringia in 1920. Under Nazi rule, Gotha became a centre of the arms industry with nearly 7,000 forced labourers working in

2584-475: The Hauptmarkt and at Gartenstraße north of the city centre. Many other buildings fell derelict during the later GDR period and the city's time of shrinking in the 1990s, whereas others were refurbished after German reunification in 1990. Gotha's economy was hit by the transition from state to market economy after 1990, nevertheless, some companies survived or were newly founded and have made Gotha economically

2660-540: The Middle Ages, Gotha was a rich trading town on the trade route Via Regia and between 1650 and 1850, Gotha saw a cultural heyday as a centre of sciences and arts, fostered by the dukes of Saxe-Gotha . The first duke, Ernest the Pious , was famous for his wise rule. In the 18th century, the Almanach de Gotha was first published in the city. The publisher Justus Perthes and the encyclopedist Joseph Meyer made Gotha

2736-675: The Prussian government had issued a warrant for his arrest. In 1875, the German socialist party ( SPD ) was founded in Gotha 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

2812-464: The age of 12 in 1642. This was the origin of the often noted liberal education of the Gotha citizenry and the following cultural heyday. Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff was one of numerous experienced and loyal civil servants employed by the duke. Seckendorff was considered one of the most able and influential thinkers on administration and public law of his time. His book Der teutsche Fürstenstaat (1656), written by order of Ernest, served for decades as

2888-488: The area into a number of smaller states. One of the resulting Ernestine houses, known as Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld until 1826 and as Saxe-Coburg and Gotha after that, went on to contribute kings of Belgium (from 1831) and Bulgaria (1908–1946), as well as furnishing consorts to queens regnant of Portugal ( Prince Ferdinand ) and the United Kingdom ( Prince Albert ), and the Emperor of Mexico ( Carlota of Mexico ) Thus,

2964-671: The beginnings of the Protestant Reformation . Frederick III ( Friedrich der Weise ) appointed Martin Luther (1512) and Philipp Melanchthon (1518) to the University of Wittenberg , which he had established in 1502. The Ernestine predominance ended in the Schmalkaldic War (1546/7), which pitted the Protestant Schmalkaldic League against the Emperor Charles V . Although itself Lutheran,

3040-450: The city saw a significant decline in population, it shrank to 48,000 by 2000 and to 44,000 by 2012. Between 2013 and 2016, the population rose in each consecutive year. In 2016 it reached 45,640. The average decrease of population between 2009 and 2012 was -0.05% p.a, whereas the population in bordering rural regions is shrinking with accelerating tendency. Suburbanization played only a small role in Gotha. It occurred after reunification for

3116-476: The city's factories, where more than 200 died. The Gotha barracks in the southern periphery were enlarged and during the Kristallnacht in 1938 the synagogue was destroyed. Allied air raids in 1944/5 damaged some buildings in the city, in particular the state theatre (demolished by East German authorities in 1958) and the main station (which remains only "half-a-building") and the main church (rebuilt after

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3192-620: The core of urban development, highlighting the early presence of Jews in this old trading town. The parish church of this first urban settlement was St. Mary's Church (demolished in 1530) at Schlossberg . The castle (at the site occupied today by Friedenstein Castle) was first mentioned in 1217. As the Ludowingians died out in 1247, Gotha became part of the Wettins' territories, where it remained until 1918. The new town east of Querstraße

3268-564: The correct personal surname of her late husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha —and, thus, the proper surname of the royal family upon the accession of her son. After extensive research, they concluded that it was Wettin, but this name was never used, either by the Queen or by her son ( King Edward VII ) or by her grandson ( King George V ); they were simply Kings of the House of "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha". Severe anti-German sentiment during World War I (1914-1918) led some influential members of

3344-492: The ducal buildings – promoted as the Gothaer Barock-Universum ("Baroque universe of Gotha"). The city centre of Gotha has two medieval parts: the old town around Hauptmarkt and the new town around Neumarkt . Both were walled until 1810, when the city walls were broken down and a boulevard was laid out in their place. Early-modern suburbiums were established to the south-west (around Dreikronengasse ), to

3420-581: The ducal library (today's Forschungsbibliothek Gotha as part of the University of Erfurt ), founded in 1650, the "coin cabinet" (1712), the "art and natural collection", basis of today's museums, and the Gotha Observatory at Seeberg mountain, established 1788. The Gotha porcelain manufactory (established in 1767) was famous around 1800 for their faiences . In 1774, the actor group led by Conrad (or Konrad) Ekhof , called "the father of German acting", came from Weimar to Gotha. He began working at

3496-651: The history of German theater, he edited successively in Berlin and Stuttgart a considerable number of literary monthlies, year-books, and other periodicals. He was also editor of the Deutsche Nationallitteratur , a critical collection in 220 volumes of classics from German literature. He was also widely known as the editor, after 1883, of the Allgemeiner deutscher Litteraturkalender (Stuttgart, 1879 et seq.), an annual biographical record of all German authors and their works. Gotha In

3572-576: The largest Renaissance Baroque castles in Germany, the medieval city centre and the Gründerzeit buildings of 19th-century commercial boom. Gotha lies in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin in a flat and agricultural landscape. Gotha has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha ( Old High German gotaha meaning "good waters ") in 775. The first settlement

3648-879: The largest hospital of the region was built after reunification. The Friedenstein barracks are one of the largest Bundeswehr bases in Thuringia. In addition, the Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Gotha  [ de ] , a state historical archive, and the Land's Financial Court have their seat in Gotha. Despite the various sights and the colourful history, tourism plays no important role in Gotha yet. In 2012, there were only 68,000 overnight guests staying for 154,000 nights in Gotha (compared to 310,000 in Eisenach , 650,000 in Weimar and 750,000 in Erfurt ). Within

3724-463: The largest insurance companies in Germany (it moved to Cologne after World War II ). Gotha's tram network was established in 1894. The first crematory in Germany was built in Gotha in 1878. The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), a left-wing breakaway of the SPD was founded in Gotha in 1917 in opposition to the SPD's war policies during World War I . During the German Revolution ,

3800-571: The last decade there was no significant growth in tourism. Gotha is connected by the Thuringian Railway to Erfurt and Leipzig in the east and to Frankfurt / Kassel in the west. Furthermore, there are some regional railways from Gotha to Leinefelde (via Mühlhausen ) and to Gräfenroda (the latter out of service since 2011). Besides the main Gotha station , there is another one on the Gotha–Leinefelde railway : Gotha Ost in

3876-404: The municipal territory is nearly free of forest (with the two named mountains as exceptions) and is in intensive agricultural use. As one out of only very few ancient cities in Germany, Gotha is not situated on a river, so that water supply was already a problem in the Middle Ages. For that reason, the Leinakanal was built in the 14th century over a distance of more than 25 kilometres, which was at

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3952-408: The north depart once an hour. The two Autobahnen crossing nearby at Erfurter Kreuz are the Bundesautobahn 4 ( Frankfurt – Dresden ) and the Bundesautobahn 71 ( Schweinfurt – Sangerhausen ). Furthermore, there are two Bundesstraßen connecting Gotha: the Bundesstraße 7 from Eisenach in the west to Erfurt in the east and the Bundesstraße 247 from Ohrdruf in the south to Mühlhausen in

4028-399: The north-eastern part of the city. Long-distance trains (ICE or IC) connect Gotha with Frankfurt in the west and Leipzig/ Dresden in the east every two hours, as does a regional express train to Göttingen in the north-west and Zwickau / Glauchau in the east via Erfurt and Jena . The local trains to Eisenach in the west, Halle in the east (via Erfurt and Weimar) and Bad Langensalza in

4104-473: The north. Important secondary roads lead from Gotha to Bad Tennstedt in the north-east, to Arnstadt in the south-east, to Waltershausen in the south-west and to Goldbach in the north-west. An eastern bypass road to relieve the city centre of transit traffic along B 247 is in the planning process. The Erfurt-Weimar Airport is situated 20 kilometres east of Gotha and in use for holiday flights to southern European tourist destinations. The next major airport

4180-410: The school of Thuringia's geodesy authority. Research with focus on early modern history is carried out by the Forschungsbibliothek Gotha , the state archive and the "Friedenstein Foundation", which also runs the museums at Friedenstein Castle. The most recent mayoral election was held on 26 May 2024, with a runoff held on 9 June, and the results were as follows: The most recent city council election

4256-400: The site of today's Innungshalle . Water supply was a big problem, because Gotha is not located on a river. In 1369, Landgrave Balthasar had the Leinakanal built. This channel, over 25 kilometres long, brought fresh water from the Thuringian Forest ( Hörsel and Apfelstädt rivers) to the city. The main businesses of medieval Gotha were cloth-making and the woad trade. The Reformation

4332-502: The territories hitherto ruled jointly. The elder son Ernest , who had succeeded his father as Prince-elector , received the territories assigned to the Elector ( Electorate of Saxony ) and Thuringia , while his younger brother Albert obtained the March of Meissen , which he ruled from Dresden . As Albert ruled under the title of "Duke of Saxony", his possessions were also known as Ducal Saxony . The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in

4408-412: The thrones of the United Kingdom , Portugal , Bulgaria , Poland , Saxony , Mexico and Belgium . Only the Belgian line retains their throne today. The oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is Theodoric I of Wettin , also known as Dietrich , Thiedericus , and Thierry I of Liesgau (died c. 982). He was most probably based in the Liesgau (located at the western edge of

4484-569: The time an enormous task. The Leinakanal brings water from Hörsel and Apfelstädt river to Gotha, overcoming the watershed between Elbe (Apfelstädt) and Weser (Gotha). The drain of Leinakanal is the Flutgraben , a tributary of Nesse . The Thuringian Forest is located 15 km (9 mi) south-west of Gotha. Gotha borders the following municipalities, which are all part of Gotha district: Goldbach , Remstädt , Bufleben , Friemar , Tüttleben , Drei Gleichen , Günthersleben-Wechmar , Schwabhausen , Emleben , Leinatal and Hörsel . Gotha

4560-454: The town of Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt . The Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire . Members of the family became the rulers of several medieval states, starting with the Saxon Eastern March in 1030. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, and Saxony in 1423. These areas cover large parts of Central Germany as a cultural area of Germany. The family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by

4636-446: The typical German working-class tenements (e.g. around Oststraße and Seebergstraße ). The largest Plattenbau settlement of Gotha was established at the western periphery during the late GDR period. In the 1980s, large areas of the western old town were demolished and replaced by small-scale Plattenbau houses. After 1990, many buildings were thoroughly refurbished after having fallen into dereliction during GDR times. Nevertheless,

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4712-522: The very likely event of the extinction of these two senior branches, the sole represantation of the Ernestine Wettins will pass to the descendants of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , who are the present Saxe-Coburg-Gothas led by Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 21 March 1943), the House of Windsor , the Royal Family of Belgium and the Royal Family of Bulgaria . Francis and his nephew Ludwig Frederick Emil von Coburg are also ancestors to morganatic lines. For an extensive treatment of

4788-505: The war). Nevertheless, some 95% of the city's buildings survived the war unscathed. Jewish slave laborers working in quarries at Gotha were all murdered by their Nazi overseers on 4 April 1945, just before the city was captured by American forces. The American Army reached the city in April 1945 but was replaced by the Soviets in July 1945 and in 1949 Gotha became part of the GDR . During this period, some historic inner-city quarters were replaced by Plattenbau buildings, especially west of

4864-439: The west (around Große Fahnenstraße ) and to the east (around Mohrenberg ). The later 19th century brought larger growth in all directions. Especially the axis between the main station and the city centre received a representative development in capital-city style. Due to Gotha's function as a ducal residence, most buildings built between 1870 and 1914 were generous in size and many mansions were built. Only some outer districts show

4940-484: Was +6.2 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: -0.8; national average: +4.6). The most important regions of origin of Gotha migrants are bordering rural areas of Thuringia as well as foreign countries like Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. Like other eastern German cities, foreigners account for only a small share of Gotha's population: circa 2.5% are non-Germans by citizenship and overall 7.1% are classified as migrants (according to

5016-457: Was ahead of his time in supporting the education of his people and in improving administration. In the 18th century, Karl August , Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, established what was to become known as Weimar Classicism at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe there. It was only in the 19th century that one of the many Ernestine branches, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , regained importance through marriages as

5092-428: Was editor of Neue Zeit , official organ of German dramatical authors and composers, then from 1885 to 1886 he edited Deutsche Schriftstellerzeitung (German writers' newspaper). He was appointed literary director of the Deutsche Verlagsanstalt and moved in 1893 to Eisenach . In 1889, he was made councilor ( Hofrat ) and professor by Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . Besides several publications connected with

5168-429: Was established in the early 15th century (with the Neumarkt , first mentioned in 1428). The monastery (first Cistercians , since 1258 Augustinians ) was founded before 1251 and abandoned in 1525. Until 1665, the bourse of Gotha was located in the centre of Hauptmarkt square inside the Renaissance building, which hosts the town hall today. The medieval town hall was located on the north-eastern edge of Hauptmarkt, at

5244-448: Was expelled from the House of Wettin, and Prince Alexander because he is not of agnatic noble descent (his father was Roberto Afif from Lebanon). Consequently, the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin is officially treated by the German nobility as extinct in its legal succession-line. The senior (Ernestine) branch of the House of Wettin lost the electorship to the Albertine line in 1547, but retained its holdings in Thuringia, dividing

5320-450: Was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows: Gotha is twinned with: House of Wettin The House of Wettin ( German : Haus Wettin ) was a dynasty which included Saxon kings , prince-electors , dukes , and counts , who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia . The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe , and its origins can be traced back to

5396-440: Was introduced in Gotha in 1524 and the castle was rebuilt as a larger fortress between 1530 and 1541. Gotha was already part of the Ernestine Wettins territory after the 1485 Treaty of Leipzig . However, the Ernestines' loss of power after the Schmalkaldic War in 1547, the Treaty of Erfurt in 1572, when the city became part of Saxe-Coburg , and the Thirty Years' War resulted in Gotha's decline. The local castle, Grimmenstein ,

5472-596: Was one of the two capitals of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha . Under the rule of Duke Ernest II , Gotha was a centre of Germany's liberal movement , where the Gothaer Nachparlament , an aftermath of 1848 German Revolution took place. After 1851, Gustav Freytag , novelist, advocate of German unity and often a harsh critic of Otto von Bismarck made Siebleben (today part of Gotha) his summer home. Ernest II made Freytag Hofrat (privy councillor) in 1854, when

5548-421: Was probably located around today's Hersdorfplatz outside the north-eastern edge of the later city centre. During the 11th century, the nearby Ludowingians received the village and established the city in the late 12th century, as Gotha became their second most important city after Eisenach . The city generated wealth because it was conveniently located at the junction of two important long-distance trade routes:

5624-442: Was razed by Imperial troops in 1572. The turnaround was brought about by the selection of Gotha as a ducal residence in the 1640 territorial partition, when Ernest the Pious founded the duchy of Saxe-Gotha . The strongly Protestant and absolutist sovereign quickly began to reorganize his small state (even before the war had ended) and in particular fostered the school system, for example by introducing compulsory education up to

5700-494: Was strongly criticized by Karl Marx for its reformist bias in his Critique of the Gotha Program . From 1876 to 1908, the novelist Kurd Lasswitz , sometimes referred to as "the father of German science fiction" worked as a teacher at Gotha's Ernestinum, the oldest Gymnasium in Thuringia. Industrialization started in Gotha around 1850, as the city was connected to the Thuringian Railway in 1847. The city became

5776-560: Was the Winterpalais  [ de ] in 2011 (although the latter has now being reconstructed externally). The Orangerie (Gotha)  [ de ] was saved in 2006, and the Prinzenpalais was restored in 2017 although the adjacent Kavaliershaus was demolished. During recent years, the economic situation of the city improved: the unemployment rate in the district declined from 17% in 2005 to 7% in 2013 with rates

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