Around 7,500 visitors to the annual exhibition on the Gotha Court Calendar

"We are very pleased with this response and the many enthusiastic entries in our guest book," say Dr Petra Weigel and Sven Ballenthin, the two curators. "The exhibition was a wonderful opportunity for us to present the 'GOTHA' as one of the Gotha Perthes Collection's top objects in all its facets and to tell a piece of aristocratic history in the process. At the same time, we were once again able to demonstrate the importance of the Perthes publishing house for the reputation of the city of Gotha itself. It is therefore no coincidence that we have chosen precisely this theme for our annual exhibition to mark the anniversary of the city of Gotha in 2025: the history of Gotha would be incomplete without 'the GOTHA' and the Perthes publishing house."

The exhibition told the story of the famous court calendar for the first time in twelve chapters – supplemented by an extensive supporting programme of lectures, talks and more than 25 guided tours. The concept was based, among other things, on the latest research findings from the DFG-funded research project "The Gotha – A study of the most important genealogical reference work in modern Europe" by Professor Markus Friedrich and Hannah Boeddeker from the University of Hamburg.

If you missed the exhibition, we recommend the catalogue entitled "ADEL MACHT STAAT. Der Gothaische Hofkalender/Almanach de Gotha 1763 bis 1944" will be published at the beginning of 2026 and will be available from the Gotha Research Library. A digital version of the exhibition is also planned, which will be available in 2026 on the exhibition portal of the research library will be presented.

Insights into the "GOTHA" are also provided by the article "Zum Nutzen und Vergnügen – Der Gothaische Hofkalender im Wandel der Zeit" by Sven Ballenthin on the University of Erfurt's research blog. In addition, the university has just released a new episode of its podcast "WortMelder" in which the two curators, Dr Petra Weigel and Sven Ballenthin, once again cast a special spotlight on the Gotha Court Calendar.

Please note: This report was updated on 6 November. The number of visitors was changed from ‘more than 6,000’ to ‘around 7,500’.