Editing Gotha (section)

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{{Infobox German place
 | name              = Gotha
 | type              = Stadt
 | image_photo       = Gotha.JPG
 | image_caption     = Top left: St Margarethen, Top right: Marstall, Middle left: [[Water feature]] in front of Friedenstein Castle, Middle right: Rathaus Gotha in Hauptmarkt, Bottom left: View of Christmas illumination event in Hauptmarkt, Bottom centre: Porch in St Margarethen Church, Bottom right: Bruhl Street
 | image_coa         = DEU Gotha COA.svg
 | coordinates       = {{coord|50|56|57|N|10|42|18|E|display=inline,title}}
 | image_plan        = Gotha in GTH.svg
 | state             = Thuringia
 | district          = Gotha
 | elevation         = 300
 | area              = 69.58
 | postal_code       = 99867
 | area_code         = 03621
 | licence           = GTH
 | Gemeindeschlüssel = 16 0 67 029
 | divisions         = 11
 | website           = [http://www.gotha.de/ www.gotha.de]
 | mayor             = Knut Kreuch<ref>[https://wahlen.thueringen.de/datenbank/wahl1/wahl.asp?wahlart=BM&wJahr=0000&zeigeErg=LAND&auswertung=2 Gewählte Bürgermeister - aktuelle Landesübersicht], Freistaat Thüringen. Retrieved 25 June 2024.</ref>
 | leader_term       = 2024&ndash;30
 | party             = SPD
}}
'''Gotha''' ({{IPA|de|ˈɡoːtaː|lang}}) is the fifth-largest city in [[Thuringia]], [[Germany]], {{convert|20|km|0|abbr=off}} west of [[Erfurt]] and {{convert|25|km|0|abbr=in}} east of [[Eisenach]] with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the [[Gotha (district)|district of Gotha]] and was also a residence of the Ernestine [[House of Wettin|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 the [[United Kingdom]], [[Belgium]], [[Portugal]] (until 1910) and [[Bulgaria]] (until 1946).

In the Middle Ages, Gotha was a rich trading town on the trade route ''[[Via Regia]]'' and 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 I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha|Ernest the Pious]], was famous for his wise rule. In the 18th century, the ''[[Almanach de Gotha]]'' was first published in the city. The publisher [[Justus Perthes (publishing company)|Justus Perthes]]<ref>From 1885 till 2004 this was, especially in the 19th century, one of the leading publishers in the world in the fields of [[geography]] and [[cartography]].</ref>  and the encyclopedist [[Joseph Meyer (publisher)|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 [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] was founded in Gotha in 1875 by merging two predecessors. In that period Gotha became an industrial centre, with companies such as the ''[[Gothaer Waggonfabrik]]'', a producer of trams and later aeroplanes.

The main sights of Gotha are the early-modern Friedenstein Castle, one of the largest Renaissance Baroque castles in Germany, the medieval city centre and the [[Gründerzeit]] buildings of 19th-century commercial boom.

Gotha lies in the southern part of the [[Thuringian Basin]] in a flat and agricultural landscape.