Top 10 Things to do in Weimar, Thuringia

The Goethe National Museum is the most important museum for the presentation and study of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s life and works. An extraordinary treasure is contained within – the poet’s actual residence with original furnishings and collection pieces. Numerous items from his personal collections are on display in the accompanying exhibition “Flood of Life – Storm of Deeds” which highlights Goethe’s vastly diverse interests beyond his literary production.

Franz Liszt lived in the former court gardener’s house at the edge of the Park on the Ilm from 1869 until his death in 1886. This is where he gave lessons to many young and talented pianists from Germany and abroad. In 1887 Grand Duke Carl Alexander opened several rooms to the public as a memorial site. All the furnishings in the music salon and study are authentic, including the Bechstein grand piano.

Perched upon a hill to the south of Weimar in the middle of a spacious park with an orangery, pleasure garden and labyrinth lies Belvedere Castle, the former Baroque summer residence of the ducal family of Saxony-Weimar and Eisenach. Since 1923 the castle has been used as a museum of the arts and crafts dating back to the 18th century, featuring exquisite porcelain works once owned by Weimar’s ducal dynasty.

The former Grand Ducal Museum, built in 1869, was one of the first museums established in Germany. In years past, the museum mainly served as a venue for temporary exhibitions, but in April 2019, it will reopen with a permanent exhibition on early modernist art from the Weimar Painting School to Henry van de Velde. A large museum workshop invites guests to experiment with the techniques of the arts and crafts.

Before he passed away in 1805, Friedrich Schiller spent his last three years at this residence on Esplanade where he wrote his famous plays “The Bride of Messina” and “William Tell”. Today, Schiller’s original desk and bed are displayed in his former living quarters.

The 48-hectare Park on the Ilm is a marvellously landscaped garden situated on the edge of Weimar’s historic downtown. It was here that Duke Carl August and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe made their gardening ideas a reality. They created a walkable work of art with diverse views of the landscape, park structures and numerous places to sit down and contemplate. Today, the Park on the Ilm continues to offer visitors a place to relax, learn and enjoy nature’s beauty.

Buchenwald (1937-1945) became a synonym for the crimes committed by the National Socialists. Until 1950, the Soviets used the grounds for a special camp; after 1958 the German Democratic Republic established the “Nationale Mahn- und Gedenkstätte” here. After 1990, the memorial was reorganized according to a new concept now also providing for commemoration of the fates of other victim groups. New exhibitions place the crimes in their historical contexts. The history of Weimar and Buchenwald provides a unique historical resonator for historical-political education work. This uniqueness lies in the proximity between the camp and Weimar as a cultural centre, and in the access thus offered to the past. Opening hours Museums | 10 - 18 Uhr The outdoor facilities are accessible daily until sundown. |

The city's old cobblestone outdoor marketplace.

This former vineyard house in the Park on the Ilm was Goethe’s first residence in Weimar in 1776. This is where he wrote the ballad of the “Erlkönig” and the poem “To the Moon”. The cottage, furnished with original pieces of furniture such as the high desk and sitting trestle, was an important retreat for Goethe in his later years.