Classical Weimar

The ensemble "Classical Weimar" reflects a period in history when this East German town was the cultural heart of Europe. Goethe made Weimar his home in 1775, and Herder and Schiller followed his example.

This was made possible by the patronage of (initially) Duchess Anna Amalia and (later) Duke Carl August.

The following eleven monuments are part of this WHS:
- Goethe’s House
- Schiller’s House
- City Church, Herder House, and Old High School
- The City Castle
- The Dowager’s Palace
- The Duchess Anna Amalia Library
- The Princes’ Tomb and the Historic Cemetery
- The Park on the Ilm with the Roman House, Goethe’s Garden, and Garden House
- The Belvedere Castle, Orangery, and Park
- Tiefurt Castle and Park
- Ettersburg Castle and Park

Year	Decision	Comments
1998	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription
1998	Rejected	Bureau - ICOMOS no

Visit March 2005

Entering the town by car, I noticed a sign displaying Weimar's city partnerships with Siena and Trier. It has picked its partners well, as Weimar turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The town sees about two millions visitor a year after the German unification. I visited it during Easter, and was certainly not the only one around.

Although Weimar is quite small, it has enough on offer to entertain a visitor for a day or two. Its market square for example is one of the finest examples of a typical European square I have encountered. And then there are of course the number of elegant houses that belonged to prominent citizens like Goethe and Schiller. These famous artists are everywhere in Weimar, in the many book shops and on tacky souvenirs.

The Park on the Ilm is a good destination for a Sunday morning walk. The main point of attraction here is Goethe's Garden House. The author obviously had thought well about its location, as the views from his house on the park are lovely.

More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery

Reviews

Hubert Scharnagl (Austria):

It is difficult to say exactly what inspired me so much in Weimar. Surely the charming atmosphere of the city, for example at the beautiful theater square (with the Goethe-Schiller monument, the theater, and the Bauhaus museum) or at the Frauenplan with the Goethe House. Or it is the possibility to get a feeling for one of the most interesting periods in German history. Classical Weimar means the period between the end of the 18th and early 19th Century. Duchess Anna Amalia then invited four great humanists to Weimar, Goethe, Schiller, Wieland and Herder, and supported their work. The highlights, which should not be missed are the Goethe House, the Schiller House, the Anna Amalia Library and the park at the Ilm river. The Rococo Hall of the Anna Amalia Library has been restored after a fire in 2007. A visit is worthwhile, but the number of individual visitors is limited. However, it is possible to order tickets in advance. I went to Weimar in the summer of 2009. I also took a walk through the lovely Ilm Park and visited Goethes Gardenhouse (photo) and the Roman House. Other buildings that are part of the WHS are the City Palace, the Wittums Palace, the Herder Church and the Royal Crypt. All these places are within walking distance. Outside Weimar, there are three castles with parks: Belvedere Castle, Tiefurt Castle and Castle Ettersburg. Of these, the Belvedere Castle is the most impressive. In the vicinity of the Ilm Park are also the three sites that belong to the Bauhaus WHS.
I also visited the former concentration camp at Buchenwald, about 10 kilometers from Weimar. It was a strange experience to visit shortly after the other a monument of the most terrible time in Europe and places that represents humanism and enlightenment.

Date posted: July 2011

John Booth (New Zealand):

Weimar impressed me on arrival. As I emerged from the railway station the classical stone architecture gave a feeling of style and permanence. The mood only improved as I reached the the town centre. Beyond the centre there are so many other interesting buildings to see: the royal tomb and its Russian church, the Roman House and Goethe's garden house in the park beside the river Ilm. Then the local buses took me further out, to the Belvedere palace, Tiefurt Palace and the Ettersburg Palace, as well as to the site of the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp.
Weimar deserved three days to explore it fully, and to take a trip to nearby Wartburg castle in Eisenach

Date posted: October 2010

Frederik Dawson (Netherlands):

Classical Weimar is a unique world heritage as it represented the world of ideas during the enlighten age in Germany that influenced many works of German philosophers especially in this case – Goethe and Schiller.

The Ducal of Weimar played a major role in supporting and creating the suitable environment for the development of humanistic ideas to German thinkers. Weimar’s royal family invited Goethe and Schiller to work in their court, as a result this WHS is a collection of homes of these two great men and many places related to Weimar ducal family (or you can say another long list of palaces in World Heritage list)

Apart from Goethe and Schiller Houses, which are very nice, I also visited the mausoleum of royal family which is not impressive at all, but my favorite is the landscape of the park an der Ilm which reputedly designed by Goethe. The park is really nice with many trees along the small Ilm river valley and Goethe’s garden house was so cute. When I looked on the hill behide the garden house, I was so shock to find out that the modern Haus am Horn (another WHS) is almost in the same line with the simple old fashioned house of Goethe created a great one photo shot with two contrast WHS.

Weimar is charming and has a lot of attractions for tourists, the food is also nice and the cost is still low compared to other German tourist places making a perfect destination for everyone.

Date posted: September 2006

Johanna Weyers (Germany):
My Parents and I went to Weimar in 2001 on the way to the north of Germany. Although it was quite cold because it was autumn the town was lovely to look at. The sun was shining and we could sit outside drinking coffee. The house of Goethe was very interesting to look at because seeing all those pictures furniture and also instruments he used to experiment gave a good inside in what kind of person Goethe was. He was close to being an universal human being like Leonardo DaVinci.
One very practical thing about Weimar is that it is not too big in terms of distances. You can walk just about everywhere and there are not only sights but also the lovely pedestrian zone with shops and cafes.
Unfortunately we only had a few hours there but I am really looking forward to visiting Weimar again but this time it will be right in the focus of my trip.

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