Weimar

Goethes Wohnhaus, Goethes Gartenhaus & Schloss Tiefurt

From Erfurt (about which later more), it was only half an hour to Weimar. Here Kurt Hielscher published one photo from inside the Goethe Wohnhaus, one from Goethes Gartenhaus and another one from its interior, one from the Haus der Frau von Stein and one from the interior of the Castle, but the Castle was closed  for visitors due to reconstruction works. Instead we received a very nice experience visiting nearby Schloss Tiefurt of which later more. Till now I included the photos from Goethes Sterbezimmer in the Goethes Wohnhaus and his Gartenhaus but I added quite some more I made myself from characteristic places in the city centre, especially from Goethes Wohnhaus.

Marktplatz.

Frauenplan, one of the key squares in Weimar with the Goethebrunnen and some nice terraces. The Goethes Wohnhaus is also situated here.

Goethes Wohnhaus

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) became famous as scientist, playwright, novelist, philosopher, poet, naturalist and statesman. He came to Weimar in 1775 when he settled in what today is known as his Garten Haus (see below). In 1782, Goethe moved to the city center of Weimar due to growing professional and personal needs. The infix "von" was added in 1782 when he was ennobled. Since 1998 Goethes Wohnhaus has been put on the UNESCO World Heritage List, together with 11 other sites of Classical Weimar.

That morning of Saturday June 7th 2025, I was the first visitor and took my changes to try make some stunning shots. Goethes Wohnhaus truly is a feast for they eyes.

A wider view n Goethes Sterbezimmer.

Unfortunately, Goethes Sterbezimmer was no longer accessible from the studyroom from where Kurt Hielscher took his photo. Ofcourse, I asked if the gate could be opened so I could enter that room as well, but it wasn't possible to shut down the alarm instantly, not even by the manager. Then I tried to photograph the room with the bed, chair, and cabinet from the other side through the bars of the gate. It's striking how everything still looks exactly as it did over 100 years ago. Only the tapestry on the wall extends less far: only to the chair, but no longer all the way to the small table.

Goethes studyroom. If I remember well, it is from here towards the door to the left where one can find Goethes Sterbezimmer.

Juno room.

Checking out the gardens of Goethes Wohnhaus.

Goethe-Schiller Denkmal in front of the Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar with a banner on the balcony:  Diplomatie! Jetzt! Frieden!". Goethe and Schiller are facing the Haus der Weimarer Republik, here on the Theaterplatz.

I really loved the Donndorfbrunnen where the Geleitstrasse and the Rittergasse meet.

Kim on her bicycle in front of the Rathaus, the City Town Hall on the Markt Platz.

Neptun Brunnen on the Marktplatz.

Fachwerckhaus at the Scherfgasse, Kim cycling in front of the Carl-August-Denkmal at the Platz der Demokratie and making a phone-call at Park an der Illm on our way to the Goethes Gartenhaus.

Stadtschloss Weimar at the edge of the city center and the Park an der Illm around sunset.

Goethe arrived in Weimar in 1775 and showed interest in a property on the eastern Ilm slope. In April 1776, he officially acquired the garden and house with financial help from Duke Carl August. He began renovating the garden and made the house habitable, adding a wooden balcony in 1777. A drawing by Georg Melchior Kraus from 1777 documents the garden's condition and the balcony. Goethe planted roses, grapevines, and honeysuckle around the house and shaped the garden as a utility space. Inspired by Wörlitz Park, he laid the foundation for redesigning the Ilm Park. Despite relocating to Goethes Wohnhaus in 1782, he continued to care for and visit the garden house regularly. His final visit to the garden house was on February 20, 1832.

Statue of Franz Liszt in the Park an der Illm

The Haus der Frau von Stein is the place where Charlotte von Stein (1742–1827) lived for 50 years, hence the name Haus der Frau von Stein. Charlotte von Stein was already an admirer of Goethe, who had become famous throughout Europe in 1774 with his novel Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, a year earlier upon his arrival in Weimar. He found a kindred spirit in Charlotte on Stein and fell in love with her. From their first meeting, Goethe wrote letters and notes to von Stein almost daily, the tone of their correspondence becoming increasingly intimate. Von Stein was honored by the famous writer's attention but demanded restraint and self-control from him. She also feared that the close friendship would damage her reputation; she even temporarily denied him access to her home. Over the years nevertheless, a very close friendship developed. From 1779 to 1781, during the winter months, Goethe was even her direct neighbor. Goethe involved von Stein in all aspects of his life, let's just call it an affair, and discussed his work as an artist, civil servant, and natural scientist with her in detail.

On Kurt Hielscher's photo we only see a small part of the lengthy building: approximately 45 meters. I think it is a pity that due to tree half of Kurt Hielscher's view on the entrance of the building is blocked. It also made it harder to find the right spot to make the photo. When looking at the source, you can see that I should have made the photo from a lower position. There are some interesting differences to be seen on the building in between both photos like the new roofs.

From a different angle. The sun was already setting. It already was after 9.00 PM.

Little is known about the house during the 20th century. From summer to October 1921, the young Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992) stayed in the boarding house set up in the building, having previously lived in a girls' boarding school. She had come to Weimar for private violin lessons with Robert Reitz (1884–1951), so Kurt Hielscher probably just missed her when he took his photo.
From 1996, the Goethe-Institut was housed here, which was moved to the riding hall in the park on the Ilm River in 2010. In October 2008, the city of Weimar sold the building to a Spanish investor. Due to slow renovations, this choice proved unfortunate. The building has been back in the city's possession only since earlier this year. An investor is being sought for its renovation.

Another view from a little more distance and the fountain.

A characteristic coblestone small street nearby the Haus Frau von Stein.

Schloss Tiefurt

Well, this was a pleasant surprise and a fun visit after we already visited the nearby city of Weimar and stayed there for the night. Schloss Tiefurt is situated only slightly more than 4 kilometers to the east. The manor house dates back to the end of the 16th century and served later, when it was remodeled and extended in 1765, as the summer residence for Anna Amalia von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1739-1807) with an English landscape garden. It was a haven for music, literature, and theater. 

Schloss Tiefurt consists of a main building, the upper floor of which comprises seven rooms, and a smaller annex. Both are connected by a covered walkway which you still can clearly see from the outside. We approached the Schloss from the "wrong" side, looking out for its entrance. At a certain point we assumed it was closed. In a kind of final attempt I peeked around a corner when it appeared. 

Kim approaching Schloss Tiefurt with the characteristic covered walkway in between both its parts. We checked a few closed doors on the right before we found the entrance at the rear end of the main building on the left.

The painting of Anna Amalia's husband, Ernst August II. von Sachsen-Weimar und Eisenach who passed away too early, is now at the other side of the room. This way they can stare at each other the whole day, every day.

We were welcomed by two men whom I asked if they were familiar with the room on the photo. They brought us up in the Schloss and were surprised by the changes. The key painting and a few pieces of furniture like the couch, the chairs surrounding the table, the vase and the small table near the window on Kurt Hielscher's photo are not on the same place anymore but to be found somewhere else in the Schloss that is UNESCO World Heritage since 1998. On Kurt Hielscher's photo we see a painting with Anna Amalia's husband, Ernst August II. von Sachsen-Weimar und Eisenach who died too early at the age of twenty in 1758 only two years after their marriage. Nowadays there's the painting of Anna Amalia herself, but his maybe got an even more prominent place in the same room. 

So here we found the couch with the chairs, the vase on another table and the the small table where the vase was placed upon, on Kurt Hielscher's photo. 

The light in the Schloss is a feast for the eye.

Anna Amalia remained a widow until her death in 1807 but traveled a lot and several works of art commemorate Anna Amalia's trip to Italy from 1788 to 1790, mostly Rome, with a lot of places I recognized from other photos from Kurt Hielscher. The castle and the park became a center for creativity and was visited by artists like fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. Anna Amalia herself was a musician and it was really interesting to see her instruments in the music room. Already in 1907 the castle was converted into a museum and opened to visitors.  

There are a lot of paintings with images from Rome, for me a feast of recognition. Just check Rome in the footsteps of Kurt Hielscher and you'll understand why. 

Anna Amalia's guitar on a piano in the corner of the room with both paintings from her and her husband.

More glimpses of its interior and on the right Kurt Hielscher's photo from a different angle.

Ow, I loved this statue, the contrast of the white on the background, but she's very alone in the hallway, which makes it a bit sad.

The surroundings of the Schloss and the courtyard with the closed door that made us almost decode it was closed. We nearly left again, but I am really grateful we did not, because visiting the Schloss Tierfurt with Kurt Hielscher's photo, being warmly welcomed and then discovering all the differences was worth it and a very good reason to keep continuing with my quest to collect as much then&nows from Kurt Hielscher and me in the upcoming years, maybe decades.

Below: Once more Goethes Gartenhaus.