Collections from the Early Modern Period
The Gotha Research Library’s collections from the early modern period are represented by two large universal collections, the Ducal Palace Library and the Ducal Gymnasium Library. In addition, there are the important private libraries of the ducal family from the 18th and early 19th centuries. The collections are prototypical of the culture of the nobility between the Baroque and Enlightenment periods.
The collection on the history and reception of the Reformation in the early modern period forms the core of the early modern holdings. It contains numerous important works by the most important reformers of the 16th century, but also by prominent Catholic authors. There are also collections pertinent to educational history found in the estates of important educational theorists and practitioners and in the collections of the ducal gymnasium in Gotha. Among the extensive sources on the natural sciences, works on astronomy, alchemy, and botany stand out.
From the collection
Projects
- Gotha Research Library
Digitisation of Prints from the Gotha Research Library that have been Verified in VD17 as Unique.
- Gotha Research Library
Cataloguing the music manuscripts of the Gotha Research Library
- Gotha Research Library
- Transcultural Studies / Gotha Perthes Collection
- Gotha Research Centre
- Friedenstein Castle Foundation
Gotha around 1800: Nature – Science – History
- Gotha Research Library
Indexing the correspondence and personal documents of Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff (1626–1692)
- Gotha Research Library
Books, Parks, and Gardens
Explore digital services
At a glance
- Information on manuscripts & prints
- Catalogues and research tools for manuscripts & prints
Research and discoveries on the collection
- Blog posts on the collection and its objects
- Digital exhibition “Books in Motion”
For further reading
- Edited by Kathrin Paasch: Bücher bewegen. 375 Jahre Forschungsbibliothek Gotha (= Publications of the Gotha Research Library, Vol. 57), Gotha 2022.
- Authored by Kathrin Paasch: Die Forschungsbibliothek Gotha und ihre Schätze, Heidelberg 2017.
Contact Information
University of Erfurt | Gotha Research Library
Friedenstein Palace
Schlossplatz 1
D-99867 Gotha
bibliothek.gotha(at)uni-erfurt.de