Weimar

The German cultural capital where Goethe and Schiller lived. Their former homes, the Anna Amalia Library and the Bauhaus buildings are all UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the Buchenwald Memorial lies on the outskirts.

Weimar lies in Thuringia in central Germany, about 25 km east of the state capital Erfurt. Its population is around 65,000, and it is a symbol of German classicism. In the late 18th century, under Duchess Anna Amalia and Duke Karl August, Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Wieland gathered here and formed “Weimar Classicism.” In the 19th century Liszt led court music here. In 1919 Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus here, and the same year the National Assembly drafted the Weimar Constitution in the city. “Classical Weimar” and “The Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau” are both World Heritage Sites.

The old town is very small, and nearly all the sights are within walking distance. The core loop runs from Marktplatz to Herder Church, Goethe's House, Schiller's House and Theaterplatz. Anna Amalia Library and the City Palace (under renovation) sit on the Ilm River. On the east bank, Ilm Park links Goethe's Garden House, the Roman House and Liszt's House. To the north, Weimar Square has the Bauhaus Museum, the Neues Weimar Museum and the Forced Labor Museum on Hoher Platz. To the south are Bauhaus University, Haus am Horn and the Historic Cemetery. Outside town are Belvedere Palace, Tiefurt Palace and Ettersburg Palace, as well as the Buchenwald Memorial about 8 km northwest.

The best season is May to September, when the parks are at their greenest. The Zwiebelmarkt, a centuries-old onion market, takes place on the second weekend of October, and a Christmas market runs in December. In winter, many palaces and houses close or have shorter opening hours. Getting there: Weimar station is served by ICE and IC trains. It is about 2.5 hours from Frankfurt, 2 hours 15 minutes from Berlin and 1 hour from Leipzig. Getting around is mainly on foot. To reach Buchenwald, take bus line 6, a trip of about 20 minutes. Two days is recommended: one day for Classical Weimar and the library, and one day for the Bauhaus route and Buchenwald. Most Klassik Stiftung Weimar sites close on Mondays or Tuesdays. The Rococo Hall of Anna Amalia Library limits visitor numbers every day, so in peak season book a timed ticket online well in advance.

Top sights

• Goethe's House Weimar – The residence where Goethe lived for nearly 50 years and died. The study, library and art collection are preserved as they were. It is the…
• Duchess Anna Amalia Library – A historic library with a gold-and-white Rococo hall. It is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, and Goethe once served as its…
• Buchenwald Memorial – The memorial at the site of one of Germany's largest Nazi concentration camps, just 10 km from classical Weimar. A sobering and necessary l…
• Tiefurt House – The summer villa of Duchess Anna Amalia, a gathering place for the 'Court of the Muses' literary circle, set in a landscape garden beside t…
• Haus am Horn – The first Bauhaus model house, built in 1923 in a white cubic form. It is part of the World Heritage site 'Bauhaus and its Sites'.
• Schloss Belvedere Weimar – A rococo summer palace on a hill south of the city, surrounded by an orangery, a labyrinth and landscape gardens, with views over Weimar.
• Goethe's Garden House – A small house in Park an der Ilm where Goethe lived and wrote when he first arrived in Weimar, with a garden in front that he planted himse…
• Park an der Ilm – An English landscape garden partly designed by Goethe, stretching about 1.6 km along the Ilm River, dotted with meadows, ancient trees and…
• Goethe–Schiller Monument – A bronze double statue of Goethe and Schiller in front of the German National Theatre, Weimar's most photogenic landmark, where the Weimar…
• Schiller's House Weimar – Schiller's home during the last three years of his life, where he wrote *Wilhelm Tell*. His study and family living quarters are preserved.
• Bauhaus Museum Weimar – A museum on the birthplace of the Bauhaus, displaying furniture, lamps, textiles and teaching works from the Gropius era.
• Herder Church (St. Peter and Paul) – Weimar's main church, named after the philosopher Herder, who preached here. Its greatest treasure is the altarpiece triptych by Lucas Cran…
• Market Square Weimar – The central square of Weimar's old town, ringed by a neo-Gothic town hall, the Renaissance-style house where Cranach the Elder lived, and t…
• Historic Cemetery & Princely Crypt – The coffins of Goethe and Schiller rest side by side in the Princely Crypt, and the surrounding old cemetery holds many other notable figur…
• House of the Weimar Republic – A modern museum beside Theatre Square introducing Germany's first democratic system. The National Assembly convened in the National Theatre…
• Liszt House Weimar – A small house beside Park an der Ilm where the pianist Franz Liszt lived and taught in his later years. The original salon, music room and…
• Bauhaus University Van de Velde Buildings – The site where Gropius founded the Bauhaus in 1919. The main building and arts and crafts school designed by Henry van de Velde are part of…
• Wittumspalais – The late residence of Duchess Anna Amalia, where she held a weekly 'round table' attended by regulars including Goethe, Wieland and Herder.
• Weimar City Palace – The principal palace of the Dukes of Saxe-Weimar, rebuilt under Goethe's supervision. It is part of the Classical Weimar World Heritage Sit…
• Museum Neues Weimar – A neo-Renaissance building opposite the Bauhaus Museum, showcasing the 'Neues Weimar' modern art movement, from Liszt and Nietzsche to Van…
• Nietzsche Archive – The 'Silver Landscape' villa where Nietzsche spent his last three years. Its interior was remodelled by Van de Velde and is a celebrated ex…
• Museum of Forced Labour under National Socialism – A museum housed in the colossal Gauforum complex from the Nazi era, telling the stories of millions of forced labourers in Europe during Wo…
• Roman House – A classicist building resembling a small ancient temple at the southern end of Park an der Ilm, designed with Goethe's input and built as D…
• Ettersburg Palace and Park – The ducal summer palace on Ettersberg hill north of Weimar, where Goethe and Schiller staged plays. The landscape park was designed by the…

Where to eat

• Gasthaus Scharfe Ecke – Thuringian eatery on an Old Town street corner, famous for handmade potato dumplings, now run by a new owner and open o…
• Zum Siechenbräu – One of Weimar's highest-rated places on Tripadvisor, serving freshly made Thuringian dumplings with house-brewed 'Weima…
• AnnA Restaurant (Hotel Elephant) – Refined restaurant inside the century-old Hotel Elephant on Weimar's market square, listed in the Michelin Guide, with…
• Alte Remise Tiefurt – A rustic restaurant in a converted carriage house beside Tiefurt Palace, serving modern Thuringian dishes built on loca…
• Residenz-Café – Weimar’s oldest café still in operation, founded in 1839 and facing the City Palace. Goethe lodged in the building behi…

Itineraries

• Classic East Germany Cities Rail Journey – Travel west by train from Berlin, connecting Dresden, Leipzig, Weimar, Erfurt, and Wartburg Castle.
• Bauhaus & Modernism Journey – Follow the migration of the Bauhaus school from Weimar and Chemnitz to Dessau and Berlin, visiting iconic campuses and…
• Classic Thuringian Towns Road Trip – Drive from west to east connecting Wartburg Castle, Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar, and Jena, with very short daily drives.