Classical Weimar
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the small Thuringian town of Weimar witnessed a remarkable cultural flowering, attracting many writers and scholars, notably Goethe and Schiller. This development is reflected in the high quality of many of the buildings and of the parks in the surrounding area.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the small Thuringian town of Weimar witnessed a remarkable cultural flowering, attracting many writers and scholars, notably Goethe and Schiller. This development is reflected in the high quality of many of the buildings and of the parks in the surrounding area.
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
In the late 18th and early 19th century the small Thuringian town of Weimar witnessed a remarkable cultural flowering, attracting many writers and scholars, notably Goethe (1749-1832) and Schiller (1759-1805). This development is reflected in the high quality of many buildings and parks in the surrounding area.
It was in the lifetime of Duchess Anna Amalia (1739-1809) that Weimar’s Classical period began. She appointed the poet Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813) as tutor to her sons in 1772. It was after Carl August (1757-1828) had succeeded to the Duchy that Johann Wolfgang Goethe settled in the town (1775). Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) came to Weimar in the following year. The high point of the town's cultural influence resulted from the creative relationship between Goethe and Friedrich Schiller that began in 1794 and was intensified when Schiller moved to Weimar in 1799.
The World Heritage properties comprises twelve separate buildings or ensembles: Goethe's House and Goethe´s Garden and Garden House; Schiller's House; Herder Church, Herder House and Old High School; Residence Castle and Ensemble Bastille; Dowager's Palace (Wittumspalais); Duchess Anna Amalia Library; Park on the Ilm with the Roman House; Belvedere Castle and Park with Orangery; Ettersburg Castle and Park; Tiefurt Castle and Park; and Historic Cemetery with Princes´ Tomb.
Criterion (iii): The high artistic quality of the public and private buildings and parks in and around the town testify to the remarkable cultural flowering of the Weimar Classical Period.
Criterion (vi): Enlightened ducal patronage attracted many of the leading writers and thinkers in Germany, such as Goethe, Schiller, and Herder to Weimar in the late 18th and early 19th century, making it the cultural centre of the Europe of the day.
Integrity
Classical Weimar includes all elements necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value of one of the most influential cultural centres in Europe. It is of adequate size to ensure the features and processes which convey the significance of the property.
Authenticity
Despite the considerable degree of restoration and reconstruction required as a result of wartime damage, the level of authenticity of these properties is high. Every effort has been made to use the extensive documentation available to ensure the accuracy of reconstruction work, and there has been scrupulous attention to the use of authentic materials in most cases.
Protection and management requirements
All components of the property, with the exception of the Historic Cemetery, are listed in the monuments list of the Free State of Thuringia (Denkmalbuch des Freistaates Thüringen), and are thus protected under the provisions of the relevant monuments protection law (Thüringer Denkmalschutzgesetz) of 7 January 1992. In addition, all except the City Church, Herder House, the Old High School, the Residence Castle, and the Historic Cemetery are covered by the law of 8 July 1994 establishing the Foundation Klassik Stiftung Weimar (Thüringer Gesetz über die Errichtung der Stiftung Weimarer Klassik). These laws impose strict controls over all activities in or around the components that may adversely affect their state of conservation or their surroundings.
The City Church and Herder House are church property, belonging to the Evangelical-Lutheran Congregation of Weimar (Evangelisch-lutherische Kirchgemeinde Weimar). The Old High School and the Historic Cemetery are owned by the City of Weimar. Part of the Residence Castle, theBastille (Hofdamenhaus), is owned by the Foundation for Thuringian Castles and Gardens (Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten). This body, like the Foundation Klassik Stiftung Weimar, which is the owner of the remaining components of the property, is a foundation under public law responsible for the management of public goods.
A management plan has been developed which prioritizes conservation measures and includes strategies for visitor management, risk prevention and development pressure. The management plan is given to local and regional government offices as a basis for planning and will serve as an implementation guide for the supervising administrations.
Long Description
The high artistic quality of the public and private buildings and parks in and around the town testify to the remarkable cultural flowering of the Weimar classical period. Enlightened ducal patronage attracted many of the leading writers and thinkers in Germany, such as Goethe, Schiller and Herder, to Weimar in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, making it the cultural centre of the Europe of the day.
Weimar became the capital of the Duchy of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach in 1572. For many years the painter Lucas Cranach the Elder worked in Weimar, where he died in 1553. This marked the start of a long period of growing cultural importance in which many painters, writers, poets, and philosopher lived in the city - Johann Sebastian Bach, Christoph Martin Wieland, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Johann Gottfried Herder, Friedrich Schiller, Franz Liszt, Henry van de Velde, and Walter Gropius.
The World Heritage site comprises eleven separate buildings or ensembles:
Goethe's House : A Baroque town house was built in 1707-9 and underwent a number of alterations during Goethe's occupancy. The original interior furnishings are preserved in a number of rooms. Schiller's House: A simple late Baroque house built in 1777 incorporating part of a 16th-century outbuilding (the Mint). Most of the rooms are furnished as they were during the lifetime of the poet.
City Church, Herder House and Old High School : A three-aisled hall church with five bays and a pentagonal chancel and a west tower surmounted by an octagonal spire, containing an altar triptych by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The three-storey Herder House was built in the mid-16th century on the foundations of an earlier Renaissance structure. The Old High School, commissioned by Duke Wilhelm Ernst, was built in simple Baroque style.
City Castle : The present ensemble is an imposing slightly irregular four-winged building round a large courtyard. The decorations and furnishings of the interior are in classical style.
The Dowager's Palace: The centre of intellectual life at the height of classical Weimar consists of a group of relatively plain Baroque two- and three-storey buildings round a courtyard. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library: in 1761 Duchess Anna Amalia commissioned the State Architect to convert the Renaissance 'Little French Castle' into a library. The main central section is a three-storey building on a rectangular plan in Baroque style. The Princes' Tomb and the Historic Cemetery: Grand Duke Carl August commissioned the construction of a family tomb from Clemens Wenzeslaus Coundray in 1823. In addition to members of the family, Schiller and Goethe were also buried in this mausoleum.
Park on the Ilm with the Roman House, Goethe's Garden, and Garden House : South of the town in the valley through which the Ilm flows. It is dominated in the north by Goethe's Garden House and in the south by the Roman House.
Belvedere Castle, Orangery and Park : The castle is a two-storey Baroque structure; the central section is square in plan and has a small tower surmounted by a cupola. On either side there are connecting buildings leading to oval-plan pavilions with pointed cupolas. The orangery is U-shaped in plan, with the house of the head gardener in the centre.
Tiefurt Castle and Park : A modest two-storey Baroque building linked by a wooden-framed to the former farm building, with buildings and memorials within the park.
Ettersburg Castle and Park : the Old Castle consists of three wings round a spacious courtyard. The shorter east wing abuts the castle church. The New Castle is a more compact four-storey structure. The park is relatively small and abuts the surrounding forest.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Historical Description
The earliest documentary reference to Weimar dates from 899, when it was the seat of the Weimar- Orlamünde dukedom. It passed in the 14th century to a branch of the royal house of Saxony, becoming the capital of the Duchy of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach in 1572. The Ducal Court encouraged Martin Luther, who visited the town on several occasions. For many years the painter Lucas Cranach the Elder worked in Weimar, where he died in 1553. This marked the start of a long period of growing cultural importance. Johann Sebastian Bach was invited to the town by Duke Wilhelm Ernst in 1709 and spent nine years there, a very important formative period in his artistic development.
It was during the lifetime of Duchess Anna Amalia (1739-1809) that its Classical period began. She appointed the poet Christoph Martin Wieland (1733- 1813) as tutor to her sons in 1772. It was after Carl August (1757-1828) had succeeded to the Duchy that Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) settled in the town (1775). Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) came to Weimar in the following year. The high point of the town's cultural influence resulted from the creative relationship between Goethe and Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) that began in 1794 and was intensified when Schiller moved to Weimar in 1799.
Weimar's cultural importance did not disappear on the death of Goethe there in 1832. It was favoured by Franz Liszt, who wrote a number of his most important works in Weimar. Later it became a seminal centre for the development of new movements in the fine arts and architecture. One of the leading exponents of Art Nouveau, Henry van de Velde (1863-1957), was Director of the School of Arts and Crafts, and it was on his recommendation that Walter Gropius (1883-1969) was appointed to succeed him in 1919, when he gave it a new name, the Bauhaus.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Share Thread Share your opinion interested
EmoticonEmoticon