Adel Macht Staat. Der Gothaische Hofkalender 1763–1944

The exhibition tells the story of the “GOTHA” in twelve chapters, which developed from the widely used calendars of the early modern period and emerged in the context of the Enlightenment in the mid-18th century. From the outset, the “GOTHA” was available on the European market as a parallel German-French edition – as the “Gothaischer Hofkalender” and the “Almanach de Gotha”. Leading Gotha printers and publishers included the “GOTHA” in their programmes from 1763 onwards. In 1785, Johann Georg Justus Perthes took over the publishing and distribution of the “GOTHA”, thus founding the famous Justus Perthes Verlag Gotha publishing house. The “GOTHA” established its unique reputation, forever linked to the City of Gotha, in the 19th century. It rose to become the most important genealogical standard work on European nobility and an influential handbook on the states of the world.

The exhibition is a central contribution by the Gotha Research Library to the 1250th anniversary of the City of Gotha. It is also the first exhibition ever to focus on the “GOTHA”. The concept and content of the exhibition are based, among other things, on the latest research findings of the three-year DFG-funded project “The Gotha – A study of the most important genealogical reference work in modern Europe” at the University of Hamburg, 2023–2026 (Professor Markus Friedrich/Hannah Boeddeker).

Opening hours
Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as on the public holidays of 20 September, 3 October and 31 October.