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Gotha, Germany - Tourism, Culture, & Language:

7/20/2014

Tourism in Gotha has not been widely developed or advertised, however there are many sightseeing places to visit, the old city is very walkable, there are 4 marked walking routes of 8 to 12km, golf is nearby, there are multiple signposted cycling routes connected to the Town Chain Cycle Trail, and the famous horse racing Boxberg Race Course is nearby.

For anyone in Gotha and Thuringia between the ages of 25 and 75 (1939 start of World War II and 1990 German Reunification), their lives were shaped by the war, occupation by first the Allies, then the Soviet Union, then living in the Communist East Germany police state. English language was not taught, and political, religious, and freedom of speech were all severely limited.

Our FaceBook Group is not political, but we must recognize historical facts that Jews were purged from Thuringia by the Nazis as everywhere else, and that Gotha was the location of the Ohrdruf concentration camp, a Nazi forced labor and concentration camp. It was part of the Buchenwald concentration camp network and the first Nazi concentration camp liberated by U.S. troops. In March 1945 it held over 11,000 prisoners and likely as many corpses (from starvation and shooting), and a great many more died on the forced death march to Buchenwald ahead of the advancing allies. In turn, General Eisenhower established a large POW camp of Disarmed Enemy Forces for the German Prisoners of War who would soon be surrendering to the Americans. This order was a violation of the Geneva Convention because it allowed Eisenhower to disregard the rules for the treatment of Prisoners of War. It allowed him to starve the German POWs, deny them the right to send and receive letters, and to receive Red Cross packages and packages from German civilians.

German Reunification in 1990 had the immediate result of massive unemployment as Soviet era inefficient factories were closed, but huge investments in infrastructure and social programs have helped former East German states to close the gap with the rest of Germany.

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Historical Gotha, Germany

7/19/2014

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Images above are from 1500s through 1850: Click on photos to enlarge & read captions

Gotha, Germany – History

Today, Gotha is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, located 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Erfurt and 25 km (16 miles) east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the end of monarchy in Germany in 1918. The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha originating here spawned many European rulers, including the royal houses of England, Belgium, Portugal (until 1910) and Bulgaria (until 1946).

Gotha lies in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin in a flat and agricultural landscape and has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha ("Good Waters") in 775. The city generated wealth because it was conveniently located at the junction of two important long-distance trade routes: the Via Regia from Mainz and Frankfurt to Leipzig and Breslau and a north-south route from Mühlhausen over the Thuringian Forest to Franconia.

In 1180, Gotha was first mentioned as a city, when the area between Brühl and Jüdenstraße became the core of urban development, highlighting the early presence of Jews in this old trading town.

The parish church of this first urban settlement was St. Mary's Church (demolished in 1530) at Schlossberg. The castle (at the site occupied today by Friedenstein Castle) was first mentioned in 1217. As the Ludowingians died out in 1247, Gotha became part of the Wettins' territories, where it remained until 1918.

The monastery (first Cistercians, since 1258 Augustinians) was founded before 1251 and abandoned in 1525. Until 1665, the bourse of Gotha was located in the centre of Hauptmarkt square inside the Renaissance building, which hosts the town hall today. The medieval town hall was located on the north-eastern edge of Hauptmarkt, at the site of today's Innungshalle.

Water supply was a big problem, because Gotha is not located on a river. In 1369, Landgrave Balthasar had the Leinakanal built. This channel, over 25 kilometres long, brought fresh water from the Thuringian Forest (Hörsel and Apfelstädt rivers) to the city.

Between 1650 and 1850, Gotha saw a cultural heyday as a centre of sciences and arts, fostered by the dukes of Saxe-Gotha. The first duke, Ernest the Pious was famous for his wise rule. In the 18th century, the Almanach de Gotha was first published in the city. The cartographer Justus Perthes and the encyclopedist Joseph Meyer made Gotha a leading centre of German publishing around 1800. In the early 19th century, Gotha was a birthplace of the German insurance business. The SPD was founded in Gotha in 1875 by merging two predecessors. In that period, Gotha became an industrial core with companies like the Gothaer Waggonfabrik, a producer of trams and airplanes.

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Behringen, Thuringia and Nationalpark Hainich

7/19/2014

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As with many of these very small towns, villages, and parishes, there are very few photos and not much information available. Behringen is located about 20km NW of Gotha, and is most notable as a gateway to the Nationalpark Hainich. It has several hotels and hostels, a population just under 3,500, and an elevation of about 1,100 feet.

There was only one Kleinsteuber found in the parish records, Heinrich Christian Kleinsteuber, born about 1836 and an occupation as a master butcher. His parents names are not recorded, and he had two daughters, born in 1856 and 1860.

The first image is a map showing the town's relationship to Gotha, second is the church, and third is the entrance sign for the Nationalpark Hainich (which is partly known for its feral cats of many generations).

Photos of Behringen Click on photos to enlarge

Photos of Nationalpark Hainich Click on photos to enlarge

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Wutha-Farnroda & Seebach, Thuringia

7/18/2014

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The Wisconsin Kleinsteubers and the Chilean Kleinsteubers all originate from this small area with a common ancestor, Hans Kleinsteuber, born about 1635, and perhaps from Schwarzhausen. The Wisconsin Kleinsteubers previously known ancestor was Johann Jacob Kleinsteuber, born 1731 in Wutha Farnroda. The Chilean Kleinsteubers also have an ancestor named Johann Jacob Kleinsteuber, born in Seebach in 1699, and the 1st cousin of the “other” Johann Jacob Kleinsteuber.

The three images above are a map showing the locations of Wutha-Farnroda and the village of Seebach on it's southern edge, as well as what is believed to be the parish churches of Wutha-Farnroda and of Seebach.

We have 288 Kleinsteuber parish records from this area and these 2 parishes.

Photos of Wutha-Farnroda: Click on photos to enlarge

Photos of Seebach: Click on photos to enlarge

Wutha-Farnroda covers an area of 14 sq mi at an elevation of 1,310 ft, and a population of 6,312 people. It is located 24km from Gotha. Seebach covers an area of 2 sq mi and has a population of 2,316 people.

A true German experience would bring you to the Thuringian town of Wutha-Farnroda. And it isn’t just about its buildings, like the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) in Farnroda, that’s now a library and tourist office. No, it’s about its cultural events and its incredibly stunning countryside — like over at the Hörselberge, from where you have a great view over the Thuringian Forest. For a minute though, I am going to tell you about its old buildings. I’m just sad to say by the time I wrote this the old castle was gone. It was built in the 13th century, and rebuilt again two centuries later. Too bad the former owners let dryrot destroy its half-timbered construction, and it was torn down back in the late 1990s. However, the Schlossturm (Castle Tower) a.k.a. Wasserburg Farnroda is still there.

Wutha-Farnroda has one of the prettiest church exteriors I’ve seen. The church has this black capped, wide tower Lutheran church. It’s everything you could ask for in a village church.

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Wartburg Castle - UNESCO World Heritage Site

7/18/2014

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The famous Wartburg Castle, where Martin Luther spent a year translating the New Testament from Latin into German, is on a hill overlooking the town of Eisenach. Eisenach is also the home of Ines Müller, whose 3rd great grandmother was "Annie" Leontine Charlotte Agnes Eugenie Kleinsteuber, the sister of the Kleinsteubers who immigrated to Actinolite, Ontario.

The images above show the castle from the town of Eisenach below the hill, and a painting of Luther preaching in the Castle chapel. The images below show map directions between Gotha and Wartburg, Martin Luther's desk, a woodcut of the 1817 student gathering at Wartburg, several images of the castle and a couple of the dining venue.

Story continues below the gallery.

Click on photos to enlarge:

Wartburg is located about 45km from Gotha, or a 40 minute drive to the site. It is located in the Thuringia Forest just a few kilometers to the northwest of Ruhla.

The Wartburg is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages, situated on a 410 metres (1,350 ft) precipice to the southwest of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. In 1999, UNESCO added Wartburg Castle to the World Heritage List. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the place where Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible into German, the site of the Wartburg festival of 1817 and the supposed setting for the legendary Sängerkrieg. Wartburg is the most-visited tourist attraction in Thuringia after Weimar. Although the castle today still contains substantial original structures from the 12th through 15th centuries, much of the interior dates back only to the 19th-century period of Romanticism.

According to tradition, the castle (Burg) got its name when its founder first laid eyes on the hill upon which the castle now sits; enchanted by the site, he is supposed to have exclaimed, "Warte, Berg -- du sollst mir eine Burg tragen!" ("Wait, mountain -- you shall bear a castle for me!"). It is a German play on words for mountain (Berg) and fortress (Burg). In addition, Louis the Springer is said to have had clay from his lands transported to the top of the hill, which was not quite within his lands, so he might swear that the castle was built on his soil. In fact, the name probably derives from German: Warte, a kind of watchtower.

Wartburg Castle blends superbly into its forest surroundings and is in many ways 'the ideal castle'. Although it has retained some original sections from the feudal period, the form it acquired during the 19th-century reconstitution gives a good idea of what this fortress might have been at the height of its military and seigneurial power. It was during his exile at Wartburg Castle that Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German.

Towards the end of the 12th century, a literary court developed at Wartburg castle, attracted by Landgrave Hermann I, who surrounded himself with poets and musicians. The poetry of Walther von der Vogelweide describes the brilliant society life which gave rise to the episode of the singers' tourney at Wartburg Castle, a romanticized version of which inspired Richard Wagner's opera, Tannhäuser.

In 1221 Landgrave Ludwig IV, the son of Hermann, married Elizabeth of Hungary. Widowed in 1227, Elizabeth devoted herself to charitable works to which the Landgrave's family took exception. Driven out of Wartburg Castle with her three children, she founded a hospital in Marburg and lived her life by Franciscan principles. She was canonized in 1235, four years after her death.

The transfer of the seat of power to Gotha and subsequently to Weimar at the beginning of the 15th century marked the beginning of the castle's decline.

Under the protection of the Prince Elector of Saxony, Martin Luther stayed at Wartburg Castle in secret. Here he devoted himself to literature, producing a considerable body of work attested by his correspondence, from which many letters have survived. It was at Wartburg Castle that he made his translation of the New Testament into German. His exile came to an end in March 1522 and by the end of the 16th century, the memory of Luther was already attracting large numbers of pilgrims.

Goethe paid a visit in 1777 and made a drawing of the ruin which shows only the palace remaining partially intact. The poet suggested the creation of a museum, justified by the ever-growing numbers of pilgrims. After the Napoleonic wars, a national sentiment emerged which revelled in the image of ancient Germany as symbolized by Wartburg Castle.

In 1817, the students' associations organized an event which set the seal on this tendency, further confirmed by the revolution of March 1848. Wartburg Castle was to remain the headquarters of students' associations for the whole of Germany.

In the first half of the 19th century, on the initiative of the Grand Duke of Saxony, the entire site was completely renovated: the remains of the palace were raised from their ruins, the curtain wall restored, and the remainder of the buildings reconstructed under the supervision of architect Hugo von Ritgen.

In 1945, the bombing of Eisenach spared Wartburg, although the castle was later pillaged by Soviet troops. The German Democratic Republic made Wartburg Castle a national monument, major restoration work was carried out, and numerous commemorative ceremonies were held in connection with the religious connotations and symbolic value of the monument.

Since the reunification of Germany, restoration work has concentrated primarily on the interiors and on the problems of preserving the stonework on the palace facades.

Many people from many countries now visit Wartburg, and many amenities have been added, including several dining venues.

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Ruhla, ancestral home of the Kentucky Kleinsteubers

7/17/2014

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Ruhla, Germany is the ancestral home of the Kentucky Kleinsteubers. The following is an overview of this scenic country town.

Ruhla is a town situated in the forest of Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis in Germany, immediately next to the Rennsteig. The villages of Thal and Kittelsthal are parts of the town.
Ruhla is located at an elevation of 440 m (1,440 ft), and at the end of 2012 had a population of 5,883 persons living there.

A major attraction in Ruhla is a miniature theme park, Mini-a-Thür, the park mini-a-thür (derived from miniature) shows about 90 models of sights of Thuringia, among them Creuzburg, Erfurt Hauptbahnhof, the Planetarium Jena and the Wartburg Castle.

Another attraction is the town museum, as is the unusual church of St Concordia.

The Church of St. Concordia was built in 1660-61 and has never been changed since then. It is one of about eight angle churches in Germany and is considered to be among the two "real" angle churches, i.e. it was originally built as an angle church whereas the other churches only became angle churches after some reconstruction.

The church consists of two wings that are situated at a right angle to each other. Where the two wings meet there is the spire and the altar space from where both wings can be overlooked. Since Ruhla was largely spared from destruction during World War I and II, St Concordia was not affected either. Hence it is the only angle church that has been conserved unaltered and in its original state since its first construction.

Photos include scenic views of the town, three images of the miniature theme park, five images of the church from various perspectives, some town views, two of the museum, and three scenic photos.

Click on photos to enlarge

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Germany, Thuringia Region, Gotha, & Research areas

7/17/2014

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The first image shows the provinces in Germany with the Thuringia Region highlighted and with the location of Frankfurt airport shown, the second image shows the Thuringia Region with Gotha region in the centre, the third image shows the districts within the Gotha region, the fourth image shows the city, town, and village parishes that have been researched (Gotha city has 4 parishes), and the last image photo shows the villages of Schmerbach and Schwartzhasuen, believed to be the origin point for all Kleinsteubers, and which are being researched at the present time.

Click on photos to enlarge

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Augustinkirche & Augustinerkloster in Gotha

7/17/2014

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A number of our Kleinsteuber ancestors emigrated from the city of Gotha, in Thuringia Region.

Gotha was advanced in many ways in the early 1800s considering its size, as the Royal Duchy court was held in Saxe-Coburg for 6 months of the year, then in Gotha for the other 6 months. An artist's rendering of Gotha in 1850 is the first image.

The patriarch immigrants of both the Preston-Waterloo Kleinsteubers (Carl Friedrich Bernhard Kleinsteuber) and the Actinolite Kleinsteubers (Henry, Carl, Ernst, John Henry Lorenz, William, Amanda, Julius, Hugo, & Rosa) were all born in Gotha and baptised at the St Augustinkirche.

The Augustinian church in the old town of Gotha , the former monastery church of the Augustinian Hermits, was first founded by the Cistercian nuns in 1216 as a convent. By 1258, it was in the possession of the Augustinian monks. They expanded the monastery and built a new church.

After the Reformation and the dissolution of the Augustinian monastery, the church was rebuilt again under Duke Ernst I by Andreas Rudolph, bewteen 1676 and 1680. This new church included early baroque features and two story galleries.

The most famous preacher in the Church of St. Augustine was the Augustinian monk Martin Luther, who several times (on April 8, 1521, among others) stood and preached from the pulpit.

In 1524 the church became Protestant. In 1524 the former convent area became a school ( Friedrich Myconius) which in 1600 became the Latin School Gotha Gymnasium. The next 4 images are of the Augustinkirche.

The Augustinian Monastery area has been converted to a hotel, and the last 6 images are of that.

Dating from the 13th century, the Augustinerkloster is a peaceful monastery located in the centre of Gotha. It provides basic yet modern rooms, a café and a library. Guests at the monastery can take time out to visit the Augustine Church and Sacristy, both of which date back to the late 13th century. The library includes a selection of 1,500-year-old books .

Rooms at the Augustinerkloster Gotha are bright and simply furnished, and some offer courtyard views. Wi-Fi is available free of charge in the hotel’s public areas. The Kloster-Café serves a buffet breakfast, tea, coffee and lunchtime snacks with views across the courtyard.

The Augustinerkloster Gotha is less than a 15-minute walk from the Schloss Friedenstein castle and its surrounding Rosengarten and Schlosspark gardens. Gotha Main Train Station is just 2 km away.

Click on photos to enlarge