Red Baron's Blog: Gotha Revisited

Red Baron visited Gotha for the first time in 2020, as I wanted to learn about the place that gave "The Gotha" its name. In 2020, the town was one big construction site. So I retreated to the Ducal Museum during my short visit.

I always enjoy returning to a city for a second time, once I have seen the most important sights. This was the case, and Volker Hollstein, an excellent town and castle guide, embellished my renewed experience.

Our city tour began at a spot where, looking uphill, we had a view of Castle Friedenstein (the stone of peace).

Looking down, we saw the town of Gotha with its red town hall at the foot of the hill.

The Wasserkunst (historical waterworks) obtains its water from an artificial canal built in the 15th century, the Leinakanal, which has been supplying Gotha with water since the Middle Ages, carrying it over 30 km from the Thuringian Forest to the city.

On our walk downhill toward the town hall, we passed a plaque commemorating Willy Brandt.

The city of Gotha has special significance for Germany's Social Democratic Party, as it was founded here in the Tivoli restaurant in 1875.

The museum was closed, so I could only take a photo of the commemorative plaque.

Back to our guided tour, where we stopped on the empty market square behind the town hall.

St. Gothardus bronze statue by the sculptor Rosita vom Hagen

Near the town hall, I noticed the statue of the local saint, St. Gothardus, depicting a stocky build.

A mosaic below the statue emphasizes the importance of St. Gothardus, an import from Hildesheim.

Click photos to enlarge.

Volker provided us with expert information about Gotha's history, including Meyers Konversations-Lexikon and the "The Gotha" business model. For each new entry, the applicant had to purchase three copies of the almanach.

Having reached the bottom, we walked uphill and saw the front of Gotha's longish town hall, which initially served as a market hall with stands on either side of a central passage.

The town hall shows a flood of coats of arms above its entrance. Their origins date back to the frequent divisions of Saxon territories.

It all started in 1485 with the Leipzig Partition between the brothers Ernest and Albrecht. Ernst received the electoral dignity and the Ernestine lands with Thuringia, while Albrecht's Wettins received the Duchy of Saxony with Dresden and Meissen.

After the Schmalkaldic Wars, Emperor Charles V decreed that the electoral dignity passed from the defeated Ernestinian John Frederick to the victorious Wettinian Moritz of Saxony, known as the Judas of Meissen.

Statue of Ernst der Fromme below Schloss Friedenstein

After the death of the Ernestine duke, Ernest the Pious, his seven sons divided Thuringia into the following petty states in the 1680 Treaty of Succession: Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Following a lunch break, Red Baron walked uphill and noticed six small sculptures on a balustrade. A plaque explained their significance. Here are the six Gotha Virtues:

Fides (faith)

Prudentia (prudence)

Caritas (charity)

Fortitudo (courage)

Fortuna (happiness)

Spes (hope)

With the last statue, sculptor Bernd Göbel made an allusion to the German Democratic Republic, hoping for visa-free travel to Hawaii.

Duchess Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Before reaching the place where our group was supposed to wait for our guide, Mr. Hollstein, for the afternoon tour of Friedenstein Castle, another of Göbel's sculptures caught my eye.

Also, this statue suggests that the sculptor was obsessed with women presenting beautiful breasts. Louise Dorothea's bold display of her bare knee is probably intended to indicate that the duchess was far ahead of her time with her "full spirit and thirst for knowledge." Well, the people of Gotha honor their duchess with an annual two-day baroque festival.

Looking around, I noticed a building covered with painted canvas that has been waiting for the last ten years to become a hotel.

After lunch, Mr. Hollstein gave us a knowledgeable tour of the museum within the Friedenstein Castle.

Friede ernehret, Unfriede verzehret.

The keystone above the entrance to Friedenstein bears the message: Peace nourishes, discord consumes. The goddess of wisdom, Minerva, and the god of arts, Apollo, hug each other.

This is a great place to sit enthroned. Tempi passati!

Of course, the rulers of Gotha also tried everything to emphasize their position by frequently displaying the Order of the Elephant. This order, along with the Golden Fleece and the Order of the Garter, is one of the three great classical European decorations.

An impressive line of sight through a suite of rooms.

This "world machine", a mechanical planetarium of the 18th century, demonstrates the scientific openness of the dukes and duchesses of Gotha.

The ducal house on the world stage. Vicky married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

In Coburg: Queen Victoria and German Emperor Wilhelm II at the marriage of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg & Gotha in 1894.