What to do and see in Weimar, Thuringia: The Best Historic Sites

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.

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 Baroque palatial residence in the centre of Weimar was home to the dowager Duchess Anna Amalia of Saxony-Weimar and Eisenach for many years until 1807. This is where she held her famous social gatherings. The Duchess’s former parlour with its original furnishings is among the most authentic rooms in the mansion that best reflects domestic culture around 1800.

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.

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 Ducal Vault was erected in the Historic Cemetery between 1823 and 1828. This extraordinary mausoleum is not only the burial place of the rulers of the Saxony-Weimar and Eisenach dynasty. The two greatest poets of the Weimar Classical period, Goethe and Schiller, were interred here as well in 1832 where their caskets remain alongside those of the ducal family.