Molsdorf Palace and Park

A Residence of Joie de Vivre (Joy of Life)

Molsdorf Palace lies in a valley of the River Gera, south-west of Erfurt. One of Thuringia’s few moated palace stood here by the 16th century at the latest, serving as the predecessor to the present-day palace. The diplomat Gustav Adolf von Gotter (1692–1762), who rose from the bourgeoisie to become an Imperial Count, purchased Molsdorf Palace in 1734 as a stately country residence. He had the old palace complex converted into a rectangular four-winged building with an imposing south façade.

Apart from minor alterations carried out under the Countess of Gneisenau in the early 20th century, it has remained virtually unchanged. The Baroque garden, on the other hand, was redesigned between 1789 and 1825 in accordance with the principles of the early landscape garden. Today, Molsdorf Palace houses the museum, the estate of the Thuringian painter and graphic artist Otto Knöpfer (1911–1993), and an extensive collection of erotic art.