Weimar – Through Rococo and Goethe to the Bauhaus

But any educated German will be able to tell us that one of the most important German cultural centers is the town of Weimar in the federal state of Thuringia. The city with just over 65,000 inhabitants is neither the largest nor the most industrially important city in Thuringia, but it is deservedly called a cultural center, which was also confirmed by wider Europe, which declared the city the European Capital of Culture in 1999. Weimar received an additional confirmation with the recognition of UNESCO, which included as many as three architectural complexes from different periods on the list of world cultural heritage. The important role that Weimar plays in German and world history is marked this year by three lovers: the 250th anniversary of the birth of the poet, philosopher and playwright Friedrich Schiller, the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus art school and the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Weimar Republic. These three important milestones that Weimar will celebrate this year illustrate the diversity of Weimar's cultural heritage, but are only a small part of a long list of famous people and events associated with the city: Johann Sebastian Bach moved to Weimar 300 years ago and spent nine very fruitful years, because during this time he wrote three quarters of all his organ works, the name of the most famous German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe testifies to the brilliance of the Weimar classical era, the composer Franz Liszt led the court musicians for several years...

Inspiration for architects
The city on the edge of the Turin Forest not only attracted poets and composers, but it was here on April 1, 1919 that Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus school, the most important design school of the twentieth century. Even today, the works of Bauhaus representatives are considered icons of international design in the last century. Gropius did not choose Weimar by chance, as the Belgian architect Henry van de Velde founded a school of arts and crafts in the city as early as 1905, and all the masters who taught at the school were aware of the great historical importance and cultural wealth of Weimar. In 1925, the Bauhaus had to leave Weimar due to political pressure, but the masters continued their work in the town of Dessau and later in Berlin until 1933, when the Nazi regime abolished the Bauhaus school and its revolutionary ideas. But during the time when the Bauhaus was active in Weimar, Walter Groupis managed to gather almost all the most important representatives of the avant-garde in the small German town: Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Johannes Itten, Oskar Schlemmer and Laszlo Moholoy-Nagy were appointed masters , which means they taught at school.

In the footsteps of the Bauhaus
On the 90th anniversary of the Bauhaus, a series of events will take place in Weimar and the nearby cities of Erfurt, Jena, Apolda and Gera, which will shed light on the development and influence of this important style on the present day. In addition to the guided tours of the city, which focus on the rich history of Weimar and during which local guides will introduce us to their famous citizens through anecdotes, songs and stories, we should of course not miss a visit to the houses where Goethe and Schiller lived and created, and one of the pearls of Rococo art in Europe, the Library of Duchess Anne Amalie, which was almost completely destroyed by fire in 2004, but was later renovated with great care. This year, however, they are adding an avant-garde to the classics, as they are also organizing a walk called On the Path of the Early Bauhaus, which focuses on the Weimar period of the Bauhaus masters. During the walk, in addition to the buildings where the masters lived, art lovers also visit the most famous villa built in the Bauhaus style in 1923, called Haus Am Horn, the building of the school where the Bauhaus worked and which is still a recognized university today, and of course the Bauhaus Museum , which houses one of the largest collections of tourist achievements of this period. The centerpiece of the important anniversary in Weimar will be the exhibition Bauhaus between 1919 and 1925 and its relation to classicist Weimar, which will take place between April 1 and July 5, and it is the first presentation of the ideological roots and origins of the Bauhaus philosophy on such a large scale. The exhibition will be held in the Bauhaus Museum, the Weimar New Museum, the Schiller Museum and the Goethe Museum. There will also be other exhibitions related to the Bauhaus. For example, in the nearby Buchenwald Memorial Park, on the site of one of the most cruel Nazi camps during World War II, Franz Erlich, a Bauhaus student who was imprisoned in a concentration camp, will be remembered, and numerous exhibitions and art projects will also take place in villa Haus Am Horn and the German National Theater.

Accommodations of famous names
Most of the famous people who have visited Weimar in the last 300 years have rested from their daily efforts at the Hotel Elephant, which today is part of the exclusive chain The Luxury Collection, which includes seventy of the most prestigious hotels in the world. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1937, along with the historic wine cellar in which Goethe drank Madeira, but after renovation in 1993 it shines again in its former glory. In the immediate vicinity of the Goethe House is the smaller and less prestigious Hotel Am Frauenplan, which is famous for its homeliness and rooms named after famous Weimar residents and visitors.
Of course, Weimar and Thuringia are not only famous for their culture, but also for their excellent German cuisine. Almost every restaurant will be happy to serve you Thuringian sausage and other, especially meat, German specialties. The restaurant Zum Weissen Schwan (At the White Swan) is located in the immediate vicinity of the Goethe House and is the only restaurant in the area that can boast a Michelin star. It offers excellent food prepared according to historical recipes and an extensive wine list. Another restaurant specializing in the preparation of traditional recipes is the Elephantenkeller, the restaurant of the Elephant Hotel, and the hotel has another restaurant, Anna Amalia, where they serve us new Italian-German cuisine. If you want to take a break from heavy German food, the Residenz cafe is the right choice, where you can also try light lunches, cakes, or simply browse the daily newspapers with coffee, just as Marlene Dietrich did in the 1920s when was a student at a local music school. Weimar is not exactly famous for its nightlife, but there is always a party or a club where night birds gather, so it is best to listen to the local conversations in the Residenz cafe and at one in the morning, when the cafe closes, go with the locals on an exciting discovery of Weimar at night .

If the word Bauhaus has not evoked other associations for us than shopping in shopping malls or perhaps the music of the band with the same name, then this summer we must visit Weimar and the state of Thuringia, where we will get to know art, architecture, design and delicious German food.