Travelling through time to the Baroque period

The Ekhof Theatre in Gotha

The enchanting moment lasts just under seven seconds. A bell rings - and the curtains move with a gentle rattle as if moved by magic. The cliffs rise up, and the forest approaches. Afterwards the opera begins without interruption. Welcome to the small Baroque world of the Ekhof Theatre in Gotha, a cradle of modernday theatre culture!

Not much has changed since the end of the 17th century, when Duke Frederik I of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg had the small, intimate theatre built, where the original Baroque machinery still move corrugated trees and ropes so that the scenery can be changed in seconds. Historical plays with Baroque costumes are performed here during the annual Ekhof Festival between the end of June and the end of August.

The evenings are made possible thanks to a small, highly professional crew of artists who start working about two hours before the performance begins. The black-clad stagehands are still sitting around talking in the yard just outside the stage door, but there is already a lot of work going on inside.

The actors and actresses have their make-up applied for their roles. They then slip into their lavish costumes, warm up by singing and acting – and eventually become completely immersed in their characters.

There are only 165 seats in the Gotha Theatre; to experience the Ekhof Theatre in summer you will need to purchase the tickets in previous winter. Anyone who travels to Gotha to visit the palace at a different time or has not been able to buy tickets can still visit the unique premises. Visitors are shown the wooden stage equipment, preserved in its original state, during tours or in the multimedia permanent exhibition “Behind the Scenes”, where VR headsets bring the Baroque theatre and its fascinating stage machinery to life even outside the Ekhof Festival.

It's seven o'clock. The audience has taken their seats, the lights dim, the curtain rises – and Gotha’s Baroque theatre world comes to life once more for a summer’s evening.

The Friedenstein in Gotha

Friedenstein is one of the largest museum complexes in central Germany. The Baroque ensemble comprising the palace grounds, the Orangery and the historic rooms from the Baroque and Classical periods within Friedenstein Palace combines architecture, history and an impressive universal collection. The Friedenstein Foundation Gotha manages more than 1.15 million collection items from the fields of art, cultural and natural history, which are presented in permanent and special exhibitions in the palace as well as in the nearby Ducal Museum Gotha. What makes this unique is that not only the palace complex, including the early Baroque Ekhof Theatre, but also the collection itself has been preserved at this location for more than 350 years.

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Cover: Candy Welz

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