Goethe and Schiller lived in Weimar - and found their inspiration there. What better time than World Poetry Day to pay a visit to the historical Thuringian city.
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Thanks to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's friendship with Duke Charles Augustus, Weimar became a flourishing center of the arts in the 18th century. Even today, two-and-a-half centuries after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's death, Weimar bears many traces of Germany's most famous poet.
Goethe spent 50 years in his house on Frauenplan, which is now part of the National Museum named after him. The stunning Duchess Anna Amalia Library, which now houses one million books, was once supervised by Goethe himself. The Park on the Ilm provided the poet with visual inspiration, as his garden house overlooked it.
Weimar, however, was not just a muse for Goethe, but also for writer Friedrich Schiller, a representative of Weimar Classicism, as well as composer Franz Liszt. Watch the video below for an up-close look at the poetic city of Weimar:
Weimar – Goethe, Schiller & Co
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Weimar is located in the eastern-central German state of Thuringia, close to other historical cities like Erfurt, Eisenach and Jena. Click through the gallery for a look at the region, which has inspired poets, artists and musicians for centuries:
10 reasons to love Thuringia
Welcome to Thuringia, the German state that doesn't border any sea or foreign countries, making it probably the most central location in Germany. It's home to plenty of nature, history and culture.
Image: Bodo Schackow/dpa/picture alliance
Erfurt
Anyone who goes to Thuringia must visit the city of Erfurt. One special attraction in the Thuringian state capital is the Krämerbrücke, Europe's longest bridge, which is completely covered with dwellings. Don't miss some of Erfurt's other impressive sights, like the medieval town center, St. Mary's Cathedral (Erfurter Dom) and Europe's oldest preserved synagogue, to name but a few.
Image: Martin Schutt/dpa/picture-alliance
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In this house, one of Germany's most famous writers worked on masterpieces like the novel "Elective Affinities" or the drama "Faust." In the town of Weimar, you can tour the house where Goethe lived for 50 years until his death in 1832. He shared the house with his lover, who later became his wife — Christiane Vulpius — and their son.
Image: Mathias Michel/dpa/picture-alliance
Friedrich Schiller
You can also tour Friedrich Schiller's house in Weimar. The author and his family lived here for three years. He regularly met with Goethe until Schiller died in 1805, at the early age of 45. Those eager to learn more about these world-famous authors can read many of their personal letters at the Goethe and Schiller archive in Weimar.
Image: Soeren Stache/dpa/picture alliance
Bauhaus
1920s Weimar was the birthplace of Bauhaus — a new approach to design and architecture. Founded by Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus art school was one of the most influential in shaping the 20th century. Architecture and design was reinvented by artists from all over the world. The Bauhaus-Museum Weimar offers in insight into their work.
Image: Martin Schutt/dpaweb/picture-alliance
Thuringian grilled bratwurst
The Thuringian grilled bratwurst is a specialty you can find anywhere in the region. It can be called this only if it was actually made in Thuringia. For a long time, over half the ingredients — pork, salt, pepper, marjoram, caraway seeds and garlic — had to be produced in Thuringia as well for it to be given this title. The sausage is eaten in a bread roll with mustard — Thuringian of course!
Image: Martin Schutt/dpa-Zentralbild/picture-alliance
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest is a hiker's delight. Germany's most popular hilltop hiking route, the Rennsteig, leads up along the mountain ridges of the Thuringian Forest to a lofty 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). And the Rennsteig path itself is long — most hikers spread the 170 kilometers (106 miles) over six stages.
Image: Michael Reichel/ZB/picture alliance
Hainich National Park
Thanks to its ancient beech forest, Hainich National Park is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The canopy walkway allows visitors to enjoy the otherwise inaccessible parts of the park. It leads visitors through the treetops at a height of 24 meters (78 feet). Some fortunate visitors get to see bats, woodpeckers or other animal species that live in the primeval forest.
Image: Martin Schutt/dpa/picture-alliance
Wartburg Castle
In 1521, Martin Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German in just 11 weeks while at Wartburg Castle, where he was hiding out. As a seminal figure of what became the Protestant Reformation, he was banished and declared an outlaw.
Image: Ulf Nammert/Zoonar/picture alliance
Johann Sebastian Bach
Enjoy Bach's music on your own or with friends at the small concert performances held hourly at the Bach house in Eisenach. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685 and lived there for 10 years. You can also enjoy the world-famous composer's music at various locations in Thuringia during the annual Bach Weeks, Thuringia's biggest classical music festival.
Image: Martin Schutt/dpaweb/picture-alliance
A popular card game
The Thuringians also invented a popular German card game. The card game Skat was created in Altenburg in 1813, based on both the three-player card game Tarok, also known as Tarot, and the four-player card game, Sheepshead. Altenburg is also where the oldest-preserved playing card was produced in 1509. Cards are still made and sold here — the perfect souvenir to take home from Thuringia.