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Lecture: "Women, men and families. Concepts and ideas of nobility in the 19th century"

As part of the programme accompanying the Gotha Research Library's annual exhibition "ADEL MACHT STAAT. Der Gothaische Hofkalender von 1763 bis 1944", Professor Monika Wienfort from the University of Potsdam will speak on Wednesday 29 October about "Frauen, Männer und Familien. Begriffe und Vorstellungen von Adel im 19. Jahrhundert" (Women, men and families. Concepts and ideas of nobility in the 19th century). Her lecture begins at 6.15 pm in the "Spiegelsaal" of the Gotha Research Library at Friedenstein Castle. All interested parties are cordially invited. Admission is free.

To this day, the aristocracy sees itself quite explicitly as a social group based on the family. Using examples from Germany, the lecture presents how women and men described themselves as aristocratic in the 19th century and what experiences were associated with this. The aristocratic origin represented a privilege of status that evoked family pride, but occasionally also led to particular difficulties.

Professor Monika Wienfort holds the Chair of Brandenburg-Prussian History at the University of Potsdam. As one of the leading modern historians in the Federal Republic of Germany, she is a recognised specialist in the legal and constitutional history of the 19th century. Her research focuses on British and, above all, Prussian history in the 19th and 20th centuries, with a particular focus on the Prussian nobility.

At the end of the evening, the “Friends of the Gotha Research Library” association  invite you to a small reception.