Back Roads Germany (Dk Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

110

Top Modest façade of the Schillerhaus in

Weimar Above Town hall and cafés on the

Markt in Weimar

BACK ROADS GERMANY

VISITING WEIMAR

Parking

Parking is available at the Goethehaus

parking lot on Ackerwand.

Tourist Information

Markt 10, 99423; 03643 74 50;

http://www.weimar.de

w Weimar

Thuringia; 99423

For outsiders, Weimar is synonymous with the Weimar Republic

government of Germany in the 1920s. At home, however, the

erst while court-town is lauded as a cradle of German culture, a former

home to poets, artists, composers, and philosophers, a well spring of

the German Enlightenment, and the birthplace of Bauhaus design.

A 90-minute walking tour

Walk to Ackerwand from the parking

lot and turn right into the pedestri an-

ized Frauenplan to reach Goethes

Wohnhaus 1 (closed Mon) on the

cor ner of Seifengasse. Goethe occu-

pied this Baroque house for 50 years

as an adviser to the Saxe-Weimar

court. Displays in its rooms include

sculpture and art acquired during

his Italian travels and a piano on

which com poser Felix Mendelssohn

show cased work-in-progress after

dinner. An adjacent museum (closed

Mon) details court life in contem-

porary Weimar. Walk down to the

end of Seifengasse to see the Platz

der Demokratie 2. Surrounded by

ducal Baroque palaces, this square

helps visitors gauge the former glory

of Weimar. The centerpiece of the

square is an equestrian statue of

Goethe’s aesthete employer, Duke

Carl August. To the right of the square

is the Grünes Schloss 3 (closed Mon;

limited number of tickets) home to one

of Europe’s finest Rococo lib raries,

established by the duke’s wife,

Duchess Anna Amalia. Walk west

across the square to reach the Markt

4 , which has a Renaissance foun tain;

houses, includ ing that of the great

German painter Lucas Cranach the

Elder; and the Neo-Gothic town hall.

Walk across the Markt and turn left

into Frauentorstrasse and then right

into Schillerstrasse, named after

the dramatist Friedrich von Schiller.

At No. 12 is Schillerhaus 5 (closed

Mon), a rela ti vely modest residence

compared to that of Schiller’s friend,

Goethe. Schillerstrasse arcs into

Theaterplatz 6 , which has a famous

statue of Goethe and Schiller by sculp-

tor Ernst Rietschel and the theater in

which the German National Assembly

ratified the liberal Weimar Republic in

1919. Opposite is the Wittumspalais 7
      (closed Mon), where at a round table,
      the duchess hosted soirées attended
      by Weimar’s intellec tual lumi naries. Its
      Neo-Classical interiors are the town’s
      finest. Next door is the museum of
      Bauhaus design. Zeughof threads

WHERE TO STAY IN WEIMAR

Amalienhof moderate

This is a good-value, medium-sized

hotel near Goethe’s house, most of

whose spacious rooms feature

Neo-Classical style furnishings.

Amalienstrasse 2, 99423; 03643 54 90;

http://www.amalienhof-weimar.de

Elephant expensive

A rendezvous for artists, poets,

intellectuals, and statesmen since the

16th century, Elephant is a superbly

sited and elegant Art Deco hotel.

Markt 19, 99423; 03643 80 20;

http://www.luxurycollection.com/elephant

Russischer Hof expensive

Sumptuously decorated, Russischer

Hof was once the haunt of the

com posers Franz Liszt and Robert

Schumann. The hotel’s suites are

similarly grand and its standard

accommodation is very comfortable.

Goetheplatz 2, 99423; 03643 77 40;

http://www.russischerhof.com

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GRÜNER
MARKT
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PLATZ
FRAUEN
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Theaterplatz Markt
Platz der
Demokratie
Grünes
Schloss
Goethes
Wohnhaus
Liszthaus
Schillerhaus
Wittumspalais
Kirche
St. Peter und Paul
Stadtschloss
Goethes
Gartenhaus
Museum of
Bauhaus
Design
Where to Stay: inexpensive, under €70; moderate, €70–€150; expensive, over €150