"The Orient in Gotha" – annual exhibition of the Gotha Research Library

© Forschungsbibliothek Gotha

At the end of the 16th century, a pupil wrote down Ottoman words in his exercise book. He would later become an influential Lutheran theologian. Translations of religious literature have survived from the visit of an Ethiopian clergyman to Gotha in 1652, which he wrote together with a German scholar who was to found Ethiopian studies. In the 17th century, a numismatist wrote a poem of praise in Arabic and Latin to the Duke of Gotha in the hope of securing a position at the ducal library. In the first decade of the 19th century, a naturalist sent Arabic, Persian and Ottoman manuscripts from his journey through the Ottoman Empire and Arabia to the Gotha Library. He also collected cultural artefacts in the Ottoman Empire, such as unique historical fabric samples, and sent them to Gotha.

These and many other traces of his involvement with the Orient have been preserved in Gotha. They point to the work of scholars who were drawn to the city from the 16th to the 19th century. These included Protestant theologians, Enlightenment naturalists, historical-critical Orientalists, Romantic poets and cartographers. The exhibition "The Orient in Gotha" is dedicated to these scholars and the traces they left behind. Each of them, in their own way, shaped the view of the culture, history, literature and geography of the Ottoman Empire, the Arabian Peninsula, Ethiopia and other areas that were seen as part of the Orient. 400 years of Oriental studies in Gotha not only bear witness to the changes in the sciences, but also shed light on the intellectual and knowledge culture of the city of Gotha.

Divided into four thematic areas, the exhibition provides an insight into the study of theology and oriental languages in the early modern period, into the practice of collecting and world exploration in the Age of Enlightenment, into the role of Gotha's collection of oriental manuscripts in the emergence of modern academic disciplines such as Arabic and Islamic studies and finally into the oriental cartography of the Justus Perthes Gotha publishing house.

The exhibition is accompanied by guided tours as well as a programme of lectures and events. Details can be found on our exhibition website and in our flyer. A catalogue is also available in bookshops and at the Gotha Research Library.

opening hours
The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, as well as on public holidays on 20 September, 3 October and 31 October. The exhibition will be closed from 25 to 27 September.