Germany · 17th century
Friedenstein Palace (German: Schloss Friedenstein) is an early Baroque palace in the city of Gotha, built in the mid-17th century by Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha at Gotha, Thuringia, Germany. In Germany, Friedenstein was one of the largest palaces of its time and one of the first Baroque palaces ever built. Friedenstein served as the main seat of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha and later as one of the residences of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, closely linked with the royal family of Great Britain through the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The final two ruling Dukes were both princes of the United Kingdom.
The palace complex today houses several museums. It is also notable for hosting the Ekhof-Theater, one of the oldest theatres in operation in Germany, still featuring the original Baroque machinery for changing the scenery.
Text adapted from “Friedenstein Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Friedenstein Castle ranks #1,252 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #101 of the 711 mapped in Germany. Founded 1656, it is older than 25% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 721 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 6,472 times in the last 60 days, more than 90% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. It is one of the 38 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Thuringia. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.
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