From the Smithsonian Lecture: "Cultural Capitals of Former East Germany." After Goethe was lured to Weimar by Duchess Anna Amalia, Weimar became a central destination for the era's greatest artists and thinkers.

1. 1
From the Smithsonian
Lecture: “Cultural
Capitals of Former East
Germany”

2. Weimar
NordNordWest (CC BY-SA
3.0)
When hearing the
name Weimar, many
people think first of
the Weimar Republic,
the informal title
given to Germany
after World War I.

3. 3
The new, post-World-
War I German
government was
indeed formed in
Weimar. Officials
chose the quiet city
as the best place for
their organizational
meetings.

4. 4
But Weimar’s fame and
cultural importance has
little to do with politics.
Weimar’s importance
stems from a long tradition
of fostering artistic and
intellectual achievements,
the most important of
which is called Weimar
Classicism.

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Weimar was home to
visionary artists across the
centuries—people we might
consider the “avant-garde” of
any given era.
Saiko (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1zNnTyF

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Much of Weimar’s story is
reflected in the lush park that
runs down the eastern side
of the town. Officially called
“Park on the Ilm,” it sports
the nickname “Goethe-Park.”
And, yes, the poet Johann
von Goethe was involved
with its design.
It was celebrated throughout
Europe as one of the first
parks designed in the
Romantic English-Garden
style.

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We can combine themes of Classicism and
the Goethe Park by visiting the Anna Amalia
Library, right at the edge of the park. This
delicate rococo structure housed an
extraordinary collection of books and
manuscripts. Goethe himself served as
library director here.
Concord (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1zNo5xE

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A recognized European
treasure, the Anna Amalia
collection was in desperate
need of safer facilities for its
rare holdings. Adjacent to the
18th-century building, a
much anticipated, fireproof
library was built, part of it
underground. But before the
treasures could be moved in,
a terrible event occurred.
Michak (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1AeU3BZ

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On the night of
September 2, 2004, a fire
began in the roof. Before
it was over, 50,000 rare
volumes were lost,
including 1000 published
between the 16th and
18th centuries.
Guety (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1vnQcfB

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But 36,000 volumes
were saved, many of
which still await
restoration. Stories of
individual heroism
trying to save these
books abound in
Weimar.
Marvelously, the
building itself was
restored and reopened
in 2007.
Rudolf Klein (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1AgJ8HU

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This extraordinary library was
one of many symbols of
Weimar Classicism, the
intellectual movement
headed by the German
Duchess Anna Amalia. She
cultivated lively ideas and
encouraged the arts. The
talent she drew to her court
included author Christoph
Wieland who first translated
Shakespeare into German.
Roberto Strauss (CC BY-SA 2.0) http://bit.ly/1B0ISNl

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Anna Amalia also fostered the
brilliant theologian Johann Herder,
sometimes called the Martin Luther
of the 18th century. Herder would
spend much of his career in
Weimar, where the central church
is popularly called the
Herderkirche, even today.

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Johann Goethe became the most
important figure at Anna Amalia’s
court. She lured him at age 26 to
Weimar right after he shot to fame
upon publishing his controversial
novella Sorrows of Young Werther.
He spent most of the rest of his long
life in Weimar.

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Goethe settled first into
a simple garden house
in the middle of the park.
Today it is a cultural
shrine and tourists flock
to it. The sheep enjoy it
too!
Image: Professor Carol

15. 15
Then Goethe moved to a
very large house provided
him by Anna Amalia’s
court.
From this house Goethe
welcomed many of the
era’s greatest thinkers
and celebrities. They were
drawn both by Goethe’s
literary work (particularly
Faust) and by his eclectic,
visionary ideas.
Image: Professor Carol

16. 16
This monument stands in front of the
theater where the Weimar Republic
was formed. It depicts a powerful
older Goethe with his younger
contemporary, Friedrich Schiller.
Schiller moved to Weimar at the end
of his short life, also producing plays
there. Together, Goethe and Schiller
were giants of Classicism and
pioneers of Romanticism. Their
spirits permeate Weimar even today.
franzfoto (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1Ah4oxm

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Before leaving the
idea of Classicism,
let’s see more of the
park which, in fact,
points to the new
ideas of
Romanticism. It was
designed to look
natural and wild
(particularly if
compared to sculpted
Baroque gardens).
Image: Professor Carol

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The idea of “ruins” became
trendy in the early
Romantic era, so these
were built in. Monuments of
writers like Shakespeare
are scattered around the
park.
The park is treated like an
extension of home by
Weimar residents. It is
always filled with activity,
energy, and people
enjoying themselves.
Image: Professor Carol

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Long before Goethe, Weimar had
important stories to tell. Its oldest
church, the Jakobkirche, had
Medieval knights buried in its crypt,
was visited by Bach when he worked
in Weimar, and was used as a
hospital in Napoleonic times after the
cataclysmic Battle of Jena.
R. Möhler (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1vh9Sl1

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Bach’s talented cousin, Johann
Walther, was organist at this
central church of Weimar.
Officially named the St. Peter
and Paul Church, Herder
preached here for decades.
Years later, Franz Liszt would
conduct his new choral works
here.
Andreas Trepte (CC BY-SA 2.5) http://bit.ly/1BgXfLL

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But the greatest treasure of
the St. Peter and Paul
Church is an altarpiece
(triptych) by Renaissance
master Cranach the Elder
and his son (yes, you
guessed it, Cranach the
Younger).
After Goethe’s yellow
mansion, the altarpiece in
this church is arguably
Weimar’s greatest draw for
visitors.Sailko (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/1D4Dngf

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J.S. Bach spent important years
here, working as organist for the
court chapel. Many of his best organ
works were written for this chapel
which burned after he left in 1717.
The palace itself also would undergo
substantial changes. Today it is an
art museum and center for
performances.

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The historic Renaissance
hotel (the Erbprinz) where
Bach lived with his first
wife Maria Barbara and
where several children
were born, including
C.P.E. and Wilhelm
Friedemann, was sadly
dismantled in East
German times as too
unstable to restore. Franz
Liszt also used the
Erbprinz as his official
residence when he first
came to Weimar.
Torsten Maue (CC BY-SA 2.0) http://bit.ly/1xvdNCl
Image: Professor Carol

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Next to the Erbprinz stood
another hotel with its own
history. In beautiful condition
today with an outstanding
restaurant and wine cellar,
the Hotel Elephant is a
Weimar landmark.
It also is the hotel where
Hitler chose to stay during
his many visits to Weimar.
Image: Professor Carol

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Before moving to the modern era,
let’s remember the beautiful Grand
Duchess Maria Pavlovna,
granddaughter of Catherine the
Great and sister to two tsars:
Alexander I and Nicholas I. Maria
Pavlovna married the grandson of
Anna Amalia and brought her wealth
and enthusiasm to Weimar in 1804.

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Maria Pavlovna continued Anna
Amalia’s pattern of making bold
artists welcome. Her great
“catch” was the magnificent
pianist Franz Liszt. Liszt invented
the symphonic tone poem in
Weimar and later created the
modern idea of the master class
while living in a humble garden
house at the edge of the park.

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Surprisingly, Maria
Pavlovna never converted
from Russian Orthodoxy, as
would have been
traditional. After her death,
a petite Orthodox Chapel
was built over her final
resting place. It’s literally
glued onto the back of the
austere royal crypt where
the line of Saxe-Weimar-
Eisenach royals are buried.
Goethe and Schiller also
are buried in that
mausoleum.
Image: Professor Carol

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Perhaps the boldest of all
Weimar artistic movements
began early in the 20th
century with the design
innovations known as the
Bauhaus. Everything from
architecture to furnishings
was recast by a host of
modern designers including
Walter Gropius and Henry
van de Velde. Their avant-
garde spirit ultimately was
more than Weimar could
absorb, though, and so they
spread their talents across
Europe and to the US.
Ralf Herrmann (CC BY-SA 2.0)
http://bit.ly/1BlrUap

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The defining event of
German 20th-century history,
the rise of Hitler, left a terrible
mark on Weimar. Hitler
recognized Weimar’s cultural
importance and tried to
assume its glory. His frequent
visits, the mass rallies in the
Market Square, and his
appropriation of landmarks
like the Hotel Elephant are
iconic events that still weigh
heavily on the city.

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He inflicted the greatest
damage when he chose
the leafy hills surrounding
Weimar as the site for the
labor camp known as
Buchenwald (Beech
Forest).
Today it is a quiet,
carefully wrought
memorial park where the
horrors of the past are
sensitively treated.
Paul Bass (used by permission)

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Although liberated by
Americans, Weimar was
handed to the Soviet forces as
part of the post-war dealings
among the Allies. It became a
most reluctant key city of
Communist East Germany.
Consequently, for the next four
decades Weimar’s treasures
were largely hidden from the
Western World.
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-L0704-0330 / CC-BY-SA
1972

32. 32
Today, Weimar is restored to
its cultural glory. Tourists
flock to see its riches and
enjoy the revitalized
traditions and festivals such
as its famous (and old!)
Onion Market, held every
October.
Yes, you can wear onion
necklaces at the
Zwiebelmarkt, buy onion
trinkets, and feast on
wonderful onion-based
foods, all while admiring the
Onion Princess.
Images: Professor Carol

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A great boost to Weimar’s post-Communist profile came in 1999
when the European Union named it the Cultural Capital of Europe.
The attention (and funds) coming with this accolade helped in
restoring many important buildings.
Pedelecs (CC BY-SA 3.0) http://bit.ly/14btZMf

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Recently, Weimar’s
small, but vivid,
Christmas Market was
named Europe’s best.
This was a pleasant
surprise to many and
gave Weimar yet
another reason to
shine.
Image: Professor Carol

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Weimar remains
Goethe’s city even as it
revels in its broad
heritage from Medieval
foundations to the most
modern designs
imaginable.
Small, but endlessly
rewarding, and always
just footsteps away from
the beguiling beauty of
the Park on the Ilm,
Weimar awaits you.
halleliebe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) http://bit.ly/1x2zUhx

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