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The statue of the German poets Goethe and Schiller in front of the theater
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A thoroughly modern classic City
Weimar is interwoven with German cultural history like no other place in Germany. For centuries, Weimar was the breeding ground for pioneering ideas in art and culture, as well as in politics.
“Faust” and “The Robbers”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe lived for 50 years in Weimar. From 1782 until his death in 1832 he wrote poetry here, conducted research and became involved in the history of his country as a statesman. Friedrich Schiller came to Weimar in 1799 and in the last six years of his life created his most important literary works. Between 1869 and 1886 the composer Franz Liszt repeatedly visited the city, staying for several months at a time, hoping to find inspiration for his compositions. And in the years until 1900, Friedrich Nietzsche developed his most significant philosophical theories in Weimar.
From Poets to Politicians
In the 20th century, Weimar became a town with unusual political significance. In the city's German National Theater, the constitutional convention convened in 1919, giving birth to the "Weimar Republic," the first democratic state on German soil. And just twenty years later the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler wrote a tragic chapter in the city's history: outside the city gates they constructed the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Tourists in Thuringia
In the days of Schiller and Goethe, when Weimar could claim a little more than 6,000 residents, the author Johann Gottfried Herder described the place as "something between a village and city." Today, ten times that number of people live here right in the heart of Thuringia. Even so, the visitor will still feel an almost village-like atmosphere. And even the busloads of tourists who come to walk the same alleyways as the city's famous residents from centuries past can't destroy that small-town ambience.
Lots of New Offers
Since the selection of Weimar as one of 1999's Cultural Capitals, the city has seen an explosion of offerings in modern and contemporary arts, alongside the loving presentation of its classical heritage. In this field as well, Weimar is setting the standard, something that students can no doubt appreciate.
Art and Culture
In the 18th and 19th century, the neighboring city of Jena was well known as a university town; Weimar was the place of art and culture. In 1860, an art school was founded. In 1907 it was expanded to include instruction in the applied arts, and has been known since 1919 as the "Bauhaus." And the modern university in Weimar was named after this world-famous school.
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Kuno Prey from Italy is a professor for product design: "Foreign students add life to the city." (German)
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DW-tv's program, "Reiseland Deutschland" introduces the culture city of 1999 (German)
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| Further Information
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