New blog post of the Gotha Research Library: A Journey into the Unknown. The “German Expedition” 1861–1862 and the participation of August Petermann, Theodor von Heuglin and Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The revolution in 1848/49 set the course for an all-German state. Democratic endeavours emerged primarily from the educated middle classes, which became the most politically influential section of the population. On the path to a republic, the protagonists were looking for tasks that could not be realised by individual small states. This is why the idea of a “German Expedition” was greeted with enthusiasm by these circles in particular.

The scientific results of the expedition were significant. Today we know of 64 cartographic drawings, 57 of which are in the Perthes Collection, as well as scientific illustrations and drawings of historical sites and landscapes.