GOTHA. 66 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. of 200,000 vohimes, as well as 7000 raamiscripts, inc'liuliiig many in Arabic, and one of llie best colleetions of ooins in Germany. The public park is worthy of note. The well-known museum was constructed in an ornate Renaissiince style in 1864-77. It contains an extensive collection of ancient pottery, gold, ornaments, weapons, embroideries ; an ethno- grapliical collection ; a splendid gallery of paint- ings, rich in old masters; a collection of sculp- tures, engravings, and casts; a natural-history cabinet ; and a variety of miscellaneous treas- ures. Other noteworthy buildings are the fine sixteenth-century Kenaissance Kathaus, the Au- gustinian Church with a. large altarpiece, the theatre, and the Friedrichsthal Palace (now occupied l)y the Government offices), the' Masonic lodge, and the post-olfice. The town is governed by an over-burgomaster, a burgomaster, five senators, and 24 councilmen. It is lighted by electricity, and has an electric street railway. Educational and benevolent in- stitutions are numerous, including art and medi- cal schools. There are also many active unions and associations, scientific, historical, etc. The city is an important centre in the publishing and art trade of Germany. The famous Ahnanach de 6'o///« and Pctcritirnin'fi Milleihinyin are pub- lished here, being issued by the firm of .Justhus Perthes, the foremost geographical establishment in Germany. Industrially and commercially, Gotha is one of the most important cities of Thuringia. The chief products are porcelain ware, meat, footwear, tobacco, machinery, soap, woolens, stoves, and brick. There are also large railway repair-shops, and numerous engraving establishments. Population, in 1890, 28,134; in 1900, 34,651, composed almost exclusively of Protestants. Gotha probably was a village at the time of Charlemagne. It is first mentioned as a towii at the beginning of the twelfth century, when it belonged to the landgraves of Thuringia. In 1440 it passed to the electors of Saxon3'. In the partition of the Saxon dominions in 1485 it be- came part of the possessions of the Ernestine line, and since 1040 has been the capital of the Puchy of Gotha. See Saxe-Cobukg-Gotha. GOTHA, Almanach de. A universal political register, printed in German from 17(54 to 1804, in French from 1805 to 1871. and since in both languages. It is a royal and aristocratic genealogy for Europe, and a diplomatic, govern- mental, and statistical record for the world, edited with a care and inclusiveness that has given it authority all over the world. It derives its name from its place of publication. GOTHA, Duchy of. See SAXE-CoBxntG-GoTnA. GOTHAM, gf/thom. A parish in Nottingham- shire. I'jUgland. the name of which is suggestive of sim)>le or foolish people. Tradition states that King John proposed making a progress through the town with the intention of purchas- ing a castle, but the people, averse to the expense of maint.aining royalty, turned him away by en- gaging in idiotic pursuits. Gotham, however, is only one of the many European localities to which a similar tradition is applied. Irving in his History of Nev) York applied the name to New Amsterdam. Consult Cunningham, Amusing Prose Chap-hook (Glasgow, 1888). GOTHAM ELECTION, A. A farce by Mrs. Cenllivic, puiilislied in 1715, but never acted. It was a satire on the Tories, and was dedicated to Seci'etary Craggs, who, it is said, sent the author twenty guineas in recognition of the courtesy. In 1737 it was republished under the title of 'Jlie nuuwurs of Elections. GOTHAMITE. A New Yorker; a designa- tion lirst applied by Washington Irving in iSalma- i/iindi in 1807. GOTHENBURG, go'trn-bUurK. See Gote- BOKG. GOTHENBURG SYSTEM. The system of regulating the liquor traflic at Gothenburg or Gijteborg, in Sweden, put in operation in 1805. In 18C4 a committee on pauperism proposed as a remedy that the sale of the national drink — brandy — should, under the law of 1855, be bonded over to a company to carry on the trade for the benefit of the working classes. The gen- eral features of the system are as follows: The company is granted a monopoly for which it pays a tax; the shareholders, who ai'e usually prominent citizens, cannot receive a dividend beyond six per cent, (five per cent, in Norway) ; the additional profits of the company are shared between the town, the agricultural society of the province, and the general Government (in Nor- way by educational and charitable institutions) ; the well-kept bars are placed in the batids of managers who receive a salary, who nuiintain eating houses v.ith cheap, well-cooked food, and who can sell cofTce. mineral waters, and cigars for their own profit. The policy of the company has been that of strict control, a reduction of the number of drinking places, and the raising of the price of brandy. Some of the results are the diminishing of the temptation to drink, the divorce of liquor from politics, the sale of pure spirits, and better ryles as to minors and hours. The disadvantages are that the law does not go far enough, beer-drinking is increasing, and an undue importance is given to the system as a means of revenue. The system with varia- tions has been widely adopted in other Swedish and Norwegian towns, and also in Finland. Con- sult Fifth Special Report of the United States Contmissioner of Labor (1893); Atlantic (Oc- tober, 1893). See Tejipekaxce. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. Tlie styles to which this name is given grew out of one branch of Rcmanesque architecture, which used the cross- vault or groin-vault (see Vault) with ribs. Origin and Character. The constant striving of the architects of the eleventh and twelflli cen- turies in France was to perfect a system of vault- ing that should not enslave them to hea^'y walls or to narrow, low, and dark interiors. This could be done only by concentrating the horizontal, di- agonal, and vertical strains and thrusts of the masonry entirely upon certain isolated points, and by balancing one by the other so as to produce a" constructive skeleton in equilibrium. This w,as accomplished perfectly in Gothic architecture for the first time, though the principle itself was an old one. The ribs of Gothic vaulting, the piers that receive their downward pressures, the flying buttresses that take up and neutralize the hori- zontal thrust, form a pyramidal skeleton that would stand uninjured if all the walls and vault- ing were removed. The pointed arch was first used in the vaulting because it not only exerted
