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Gotha
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=== Middle Ages === Gotha has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by [[Charlemagne]] as ''Villa Gotaha'' ([[Old High German]] ''gotaha'' meaning "good [[Aach (toponymy)|waters]]") in 775. The first settlement was probably located around today's ''Hersdorfplatz'' outside the north-eastern edge of the later city centre. During the 11th century, the nearby [[Ludowingians]] received the village and established the city in the late 12th century, as Gotha became their second most important city after [[Eisenach]]. 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 [[Wrocław|Breslau]] and a north–south route from [[Mühlhausen]] over the [[Thuringian Forest]] to [[Franconia]]. One of the oldest pieces of evidence of busy trade in the city is the "Gotha cache of coins" with nearly 800 [[Bracteate]]s, buried in 1185 in the central city. 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 [[House of Wettin|Wettins']] territories, where it remained until 1918. The ''new town'' east of ''Querstraße'' was established in the early 15th century (with the ''Neumarkt'', first mentioned in 1428). 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 architecture|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, [[Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia|Landgrave Balthasar]] had the [[Leinakanal]] built. This channel, over 25 kilometres long, brought fresh water from the Thuringian Forest ([[Hörsel]] and [[Apfelstädt (river)|Apfelstädt]] rivers) to the city. The main businesses of medieval Gotha were cloth-making and the [[Isatis tinctoria|woad]] trade.
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