Art museum in a historicist building by Gotha's palace park: Egyptian and classical antiquities, East Asian art, Cranach, Rubens and the "Gothaer Liebespaar" (Gotha Lovers).
September 5, 2026 – December 6, 2026
Major annual exhibition on 1632, Rembrandt's year of upheaval when he moved to Amsterdam; variants, copies and workshop pieces are compared with findings from technical art history. In cooperation with Hessen Kassel Heritage.
September 23, 2026 – December 31, 2026
Cabinet exhibition of fans and cases from the 18th to the 20th century, whose floral motifs range from lace and ivory carving to the Victorian language of flowers.
Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had the museum built from 1864 onward to designs by the Viennese architect Franz von Neumann on the site of the former kitchen garden south of Friedenstein Palace, because the palace could no longer hold the collections that had grown over generations. The elaborate Neo-Renaissance building was completed in 1879 and housed artworks, antiquities and objects from Asia.
During and after World War II, the collections suffered heavy losses; a large part was taken to the Soviet Union in 1945 and did not return until the mid-1950s. From 1954, the building was used as a natural history museum, later named Museum der Natur.
After the natural history museum moved out in 2010, the building was restored at a cost of around nine million euros and reopened as an art museum in October 2013. Since then, the Friedenstein Stiftung Gotha has displayed Egyptian and classical antiquities, East Asian art, sculpture, ceramics and paintings on about 3,000 square meters. Highlights include the late Gothic "Gothaer Liebespaar" (Gotha Lovers), works by Cranach, Rubens and Caspar David Friedrich, and the largest collection of sculptures by Jean-Antoine Houdon outside France. An exhibition hall is used for major special exhibitions.
| Adults | €12 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €6School students aged 13 and over, university students up to age 27, Federal Volunteer Service participants, people with severe disabilities (disability rating of 70 or more), Stadtpass holders; also with the Thüringer Wald Card, Gästekarte Inselsberg, Thüringer Ehrenamts-Card, artCard, a same-day DB regional ticket for Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt/Thuringia or a combined ticket from the Kunstforum Gotha |
| Children & teens | €6free up to age 12 · Children and young people up to age 12 free (also in school groups); reduced from age 13. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €6Reduced rate with a disability rating of 70 or more. |
| Students & apprentices | €6University students up to age 27. |
| Groups (21+ people) | €9 per personGroup ticket for 21 or more people. |
| Families | –No family ticket; children up to age 12 free. |
| Combined ticket Friedenstein Palace + Herzogliches Museum | €16reduced €8, groups of 21 or more €12; valid until the following opening day |
| Annual pass (all museums of the foundation) | €35reduced €30; includes special exhibitions and events except the Ekhof Festival |
| Class ticket (school students aged 13 and over) | €10School class with accompanying adult, without museum education program |
| Public short tour "Weltkunst entdecken" (Discover World Art) | €8reduced €4; 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month, 13:00 |
Single ticket for the Herzogliches Museum including special exhibition, valid for one day. Special prices apply during the Rembrandt exhibition (September 5 – December 6, 2026) – please check the museum's website before your visit. Free admission for members of ICOM, DMB, the Deutscher Verband für Kunstgeschichte and the friends' association, and with the weimar card plus. Group tour €60 plus admission (max. 30 people, German or English); surcharges of €30 each for special topics, other languages or longer duration, €100 outside opening hours.
All areas reachable via elevator and portable ramps, with minor limitations in the historic building. Accessible entrance on the right side of the building (please ring). Museum guide and audio guide in Easy German (Leichte Sprache); tours in Easy German and descriptive tours for blind and visually impaired visitors with advance registration. Certified under the "Reisen für Alle" (Travel for All) program in 2017, recertified in 2020.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 12 |
|---|
Treasure hunts, youth audio guide and a children's & family booklet; holiday programs by the foundation. Strollers are not allowed in the museum: free baby carriers for children up to 1 year are available at the ticket desk, and strollers are stored. Free admission for under-18s accompanied by an adult.
Gotha Hauptbahnhof
Gotha station (IC, RE, RB), then about a 10-minute walk via Bahnhofstraße and Parkallee.
Free parking
Free parking beside the museum and on Lindenauallee (opposite Hotel am Schlosspark).
Navigation destination: Parkallee, Gotha. From the A4 exit Gotha, take the B 247 into town.
Get directionsMuseum café in the building. Ticket desk, shop and cloakroom on the first floor. Strollers are not allowed in the museum; free baby carriers for children up to 1 year are available at the ticket desk, and strollers can be left there. Free parking next to the museum and on Lindenauallee. Scavenger hunts and a youth audio guide for children.
Rentals and weddings relate to Friedenstein Palace (Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten, palace administration); no rental offers are listed for the Herzogliches Museum.
Inquiries & details| Guided tours | yes · approx. 45 min |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (DE, EN) |
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Photography and filming for private purposes are permitted except in marked areas; commercial photography only with permission. |
| Good to know | Free audio guide for your own smartphone (German, English, youth version, Easy German) via QR code; virtual tour online. Public short tour "Weltkunst entdecken" on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month at 13:00 (registration recommended); group tours by arrangement. Museum education programs for school classes €20, free for kindergartens. |
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