This horseshoe-shaped palace is the largest surviving early baroque palace in Germany. Much of the compound is now the Schlossmuseum (Palace Museum), a glorious assembly of art collections displayed in lavish baroque and neoclassical apartments. The picture gallery features priceless works by Rubens, Tischbein, Cranach and other old masters, as well as the radiant Gothaer Liebespaar (Pair of Lovers) painted around 1480 by an anonymous artist known only as Master of the Housebook.
Upstairs is the exuberantly stucco-ornamented Festsaal (Festival Hall), as well as the neoclassical wing, the sculpture collection of which includes a famous Renaissance work by Conrad Meit called Adam und Eva . Other highlights include the Kunstkammer , a curio cabinet jammed with exotica, and the Schlosskirche (Palace Church) in the northeastern corner. The southwest tower contains the stunning Ekhof-Theater , one of the oldest baroque theatres in Europe, dating from the late 1700s. This hosts performances during the popular Ekhof Festival in July and August.
Tickets double as the Friedenstein-Karte, which provides admission to several other sights in Gotha.
