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From the Smithsonian

Lecture: “Cultural

Capitals of Former East

Germany”

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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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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