Destinations Menu
RSS
Weimar, Germany
Statue of Goethe and Schiller in Weimar, Germany (cc)
Photo: Andreas Trepte
Weimar
Weimar is a small yet pretty town of around 60,000 inhabitants. Its fame, however, extends far beyond the borders of Thuringia. Foreigners generally associate Weimar with the ill-fated Weimar Republic; founded here in 1919, but ruled from Berlin where it floundered in the early 1930s after the Nazis came to power.
Still, for Germans as well as the average tourist, visiting Weimar is all about classicism. Although never a large town, and never of real strategic importance, Weimar attracted artistic talent for centuries. During the late 18th century, under the reign of the talented Duchess Anna Amalia and later her son Carl August, the Duchy Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach reached its classical period and for a few decades, this town of less than 5,000 was the center of intellectual thought in Germany. The Duchess came to power in 1758, and acquired the services of Christoph Martin Wieland to educate her son. The greatest coup was inviting the brilliant young, but upcoming, writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He would stay in Weimar from 1775 until his death in 1832, playing a major role not only in the arts but also in the administration of the duchy. He attracted other writers such as the dramatist Friederich von Schiller and the theologian Gottfried Herder. These four elevated German literature to an unknown level, leading to the period generally referred to as the classical. For most German tourists, and students of German, visiting Weimar is primarily a pilgrimage to the sites associated with these writers.
Through the centuries Weimar also attracted other talents such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, who died here; Johann Sebastian Bach, who was organist and choirmaster in Weimar from 1708 to 1717; and Franz Liszt, who, beginning in 1848, filled the same position as Bach and created a famous musical school that currently bears his name.
In the 20th century, Weimar played a major role in the foundation of modern architecture and design. From 1902, Henri van de Velde, the Belgian exponent of Art Nouveau, worked in Weimar. After the First World War, the Bauhaus was founded in Weimar under the leadership of Walter Gropius. However, the ideas of the Bauhaus were too radical for the conservative town and by 1925 Bauhaus moved to Dessau.
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(7)
Restaurants(5)
Attractions(15)
Activities(7)
Map 
Visitor Information
Weather Forecast
- Reported on:
Mon, 12/30/2024 - 19:50
- Reported on:
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More