Weimar is a city in the German state of Thuringia. It is located in central Germany, between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east. Weimar is 80 km (50 mi) southwest of Leipzig, 170 km (106 mi) north of Nuremberg, and 170 km (106 mi) west of Dresden. Weimar, along with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Jena, forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia, which has about 500,000 people. The city itself has a population of 65,000. Weimar is well known for its cultural heritage and its role in German history.

The city was an important center during the German Enlightenment. It was home to famous literary figures Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, who were key to the Weimar Classicism movement. In the 19th century, composers like Franz Liszt helped make Weimar a major music center. Later, artists and architects such as Henry van de Velde, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, and Walter Gropius arrived in Weimar. They started the Bauhaus movement, which was one of the most important German design schools during the early 20th century.

Weimar's political history in the 20th century was unstable. It was where Germany's first democratic constitution was signed after World War I. This event gave the name "Weimar Republic" to the period from 1918 to 1933, which lasted until the rise of the Nazis. Weimar was also a city that the Nazis used in their propaganda.

Until 1948, Weimar was the capital of Thuringia. Many places in the city center are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These include the Classical Weimar complex, which has monuments from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Bauhaus complex, which includes buildings linked to the Bauhaus art school. Heritage tourism is a major part of Weimar's economy.

Important institutions in Weimar include the Bauhaus University, the Liszt School of Music, the Duchess Anna Amalia Library, and two major courts of Thuringia: the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court. In 1999, Weimar was named the European Capital of Culture.

History

Archaeological discoveries from the Thuringii time period (3rd to 6th centuries) show that the Weimar area of the Ilm valley was settled early. Many settlements formed a network covering much of today's city area.

The earliest written records about Weimar date to 899. Its name changed over time, from Wimares to Wimar and finally to Weimar. The name comes from Old High German words meaning "holy" and "standing water" or "swamp." Weimar was the seat of the County of Weimar, first mentioned in 949. This county was one of the most powerful areas in Thuringia during the early Middle Ages. In 1062, the county was joined with the County of Orlamünde to form the new County of Weimar-Orlamünde. This county lasted until the Thuringian Counts' War in 1346, after which it came under the control of the Wettins.

The settlement of Weimar grew around the count's wooden castle and two small churches, one dedicated to Saint Peter (which later became the main church) and the other to Saint James. In 1240, the count founded a monastery in Oberweimar, run by Cistercian nuns. Soon after, the counts of Weimar established the town, which became an independent parish in 1249 and was called a "civitas" (a city) in 1254. By 1262, the citizens used their own seal. As the influence of the Wettins in Thuringia grew, the power of the Weimar counts declined. Weimar was not near major trade routes like the Via Regia, so it had little importance in the region. A neighborhood around Saint James Church developed into a suburb during the 13th century.

After becoming part of Wettin territory in 1346, Weimar began to grow. The Wettins helped the city by ending socage (a type of land tax) and giving citizens special rights. Weimar became equal to other Wettin cities like Weißensee and grew during the 15th century, with the building of a town hall and the main church. In 1438, Weimar received the right to trade in woad, a plant used to make blue dye. The castle and city walls were completed in the 16th century, making Weimar a full city.

After the Treaty of Leipzig in 1485, Weimar became part of the Ernestine branch of the Wettins, which had Wittenberg as its capital. The Protestant Reformation began in Weimar in 1525, and Martin Luther visited the city several times. When the Ernestines lost the Schmalkaldic War in 1547, their capital Wittenberg was taken by the Albertines, so they needed a new home. Weimar became their residence in 1552 and remained so until the end of the monarchy in 1918. Even after the first Ernestine territorial division in 1572, Weimar stayed the capital of different Saxe-Weimar states. The court and its staff brought wealth to the city, leading to a construction boom in the 16th century. However, the 17th century brought decline due to changes in trade and the loss of political power by the dukes of Saxe-Weimar. The city's government weakened, and the dukes ruled with more control in the early 18th century. Despite this, the city saw another building boom, giving Weimar its current appearance, marked by ducal buildings. The city walls were torn down in 1757, and Weimar expanded in all directions. The largest building from this time was the Schloss (palace), completed in parts between 1789 and 1914. Between 1708 and 1717, Johann Sebastian Bach worked as the court's organist in Weimar.

The period from the regency of Anna Amalia (1758–1775) and her son Carl August (1775–1828) until Goethe's death in 1832 is called the "golden" or "classical" age because of the high level of cultural activity in Weimar. The city became a major cultural center in Europe, home to writers like Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Wieland, and Bertuch, and musicians like Hummel. Weimar became a place of pilgrimage for German intellectuals after Goethe moved there in 1775. Goethe also worked in public service, serving as a Privy Councilor to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The tombs of Goethe and Schiller, along with their papers, are in Weimar. Goethe's novel Elective Affinities (1809) is set in Weimar. The dukes of Saxe-Weimar had a liberal and open policy during this time, and a liberal constitution was created in 1816.

After Goethe's death, Weimar remained a cultural center, known as the "silver" age. Music was a focus, and in 1842, Franz Liszt became the Grand Ducal court conductor. Liszt helped premiere Wagner's Lohengrin (1850) and Saint-Saëns' Samson et Delilah (1877) in Weimar. The Weimar School of Music, Germany's first orchestra school, was founded in 1872. Richard Strauss worked in Weimar from 1889 to 1894 as the second conductor of the Staatskapelle Weimar (founded in 1491). Strauss also helped premiere Humperdinck's opera Hänsel and Gretel in 1893. Friedrich Nietzsche moved to Weimar in 1897 and died there in 1900.

In 1860, the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School was founded, the predecessor of today's Bauhaus University. This marked the start of formal art education in Weimar. The school developed its own painting style, known as the Weimar School of painting, with artists like Max Liebermann and Arnold Böcklin. In 1902, the Kunstgewerbeschule Weimar was established by Henry van de Velde with the support of Grand Duke William Ernest. This school became part of the Bauhaus movement, known as "Das Neue Weimar" around Harry Graf Kessler. It was created as a response to Prussia's strict art policies that favored traditional styles over modern ones like Art Nouveau.

As early as the 1

Geography and demographics

Weimar is located in the valley of the Ilm River, which flows into the Saale River. It is on the southern edge of the Thuringian Basin, a rich farming area between the Harz Mountains, 70 kilometers (43 miles) to the north, and the Thuringian Forest, 50 kilometers (31 miles) to the southwest. The land around Weimar is mostly hilly. The city center in the Ilm Valley is about 200 meters above sea level. To the north, the land rises to Ettersberg, a hill behind the city that is 482 meters high. In the south, hills reach up to 370 meters and are part of the Ilm Saale Plate Muschelkalk formation. The eastern, central, and western parts of Weimar are used for farming, while Ettersberg and some southern areas have forests.

Weimar has a humid continental climate (Dfb) or an oceanic climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen system. Summers are warm and sometimes wet, with average high temperatures of 23°C (73°F) and low temperatures of 12°C (54°F). Winters are cold, with average high temperatures of 2°C (36°F) and low temperatures of -3°C (27°F). The city's location in a basin creates a microclimate, sometimes causing very cold nights below -20°C (-4°F) in winter. Weimar gets about 535 mm (21.1 inches) of rain each year, with rainfall spread evenly throughout the year. Light snow falls mainly from December to February, but it does not last long.

The Weimar (Erfurt–Weimar Airport) weather station recorded these extreme weather values:
– Highest temperature: 37.6°C (99.7°F) on July 20, 2022.
– Lowest temperature: -25.0°C (-13.0°F) on January 11, 1982.
– Most rain in one year: 766.9 mm (30.19 inches) in 2002.
– Least rain in one year: 295.6 mm (11.64 inches) in 1982.
– Most sunshine in one year: 2,039.4 hours in 2022.
– Least sunshine in one year: 1,341 hours in 1977.

Weimar borders the Weimarer Land district, which includes the towns Berlstedt, Ettersburg, Kleinobringen, Großobringen, and Wohlsborn to the north; Kromsdorf, Umpferstedt, and Mellingen to the east; Vollersroda, Buchfart, Hetschburg, Bad Berka, and Troistedt to the south; and Nohra, Daasdorf am Berge, Hopfgarten, and Ottstedt am Berge to the west.

The city is divided into 10 inner-city districts and 11 suburban districts. The city center includes the old town (Altstadt) and areas like Nordvorstadt (north), Parkvorstadt (east), and Westvorstadt (south and west). Later additions include Südstadt (south) and Schönblick (southwest). Plattenbau neighborhoods, built during the GDR period, are located in Weststadt and Nordstadt, along with two industrial areas in the north and west.

The 11 suburban districts were added to the city during the 20th century but remain mostly rural:
– Gaberndorf (1994)
– Gelmeroda (1994)
– Legefeld/Holzdorf (1994)
– Niedergrunstedt (1994)
– Oberweimar/Ehringsdorf (1922)
– Possendorf (1994)
– Schöndorf (1939)
– Süßenborn (1994)
– Taubach (1994)
– Tiefurt (1922)
– Tröbsdorf (1994)

For many years, Weimar was a small town with fewer than 5,000 people. When it became the capital of Saxe-Weimar in 1572, the population grew. By 1650, it had 3,000 people, and by 1750, it had 6,000. Around 1800, Weimar had 7,000 people. The population continued to grow, reaching 13,000 in 1850, 28,000 in 1900, and 35,000 at the start of World War I. During the interwar period, Weimar became the capital of Thuringia, and its population reached 65,000 by 1940. After that, population growth slowed. Between 2009 and 2012, the population increased slightly by about 0.35% each year, while nearby rural areas saw declining populations. Suburbanization had little effect on Weimar, except briefly in the 1990s after reunification.

In 2012, Weimar had a birth surplus of +3, or +0.0 per 1,000 people (Thuringian average: -4.5; national average: -2.4). The net migration rate was +4.5 per 1,000 people (Thuringian average: -0.8; national average: +4.6). Most people moving to Weimar came from rural areas of Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as from countries like Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Like other cities in eastern Germany, Weimar has a small foreign population compared to the national average. About 4.0% of residents are not German citizens, and 7.9% have a migrant background (2011 EU census). The largest migrant groups in Weimar are Vietnamese, Russians, and Ukrainians. In recent years, the city's economy improved, reducing unemployment from 20% in 2005 to 5.1% in 2019. Because the former GDR promoted atheism, most people in Weimar are not religious. About 21.1% belong to the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, and 6.8% are Catholic (2011 EU census).

Culture, sights and cityscape

Weimar is home to two important World Heritage Sites:

• The Classical Weimar World Heritage Site includes 11 places connected to Weimar’s role as a European center of learning and ideas during the 1700s and early 1800s.
• The Bauhaus and Its Sites in Weimar, Dessau, and Bernau World Heritage Site includes six locations, two in Weimar, linked to the Bauhaus art school. This school greatly influenced architecture and design in the 20th century.

Weimar has many museums:

• The Goethe-Nationalmuseum at Frauenplan displays items from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s former home.
• Goethe’s garden house in the Park an der Ilm shows how Goethe studied nature.
• The Schiller-Museum at Schillerstraße displays items from Friedrich Schiller’s former home.
• The Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv at Hans-Wahl-Straße holds works by Goethe, Schiller, and other artists. It joined the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme in 2001.
• The Wittumspalais at Theaterplatz shows items from the lives of early-modern nobles, such as furniture and porcelain.
• The Liszt-Haus at Marienstraße displays items from Franz Liszt’s former summer home.
• The Nietzsche-Archiv at Humboldtstraße holds works by Friedrich Nietzsche.
• The Gedenkstätte Buchenwald at the former Buchenwald concentration camp honors victims of Nazi violence.
• The Bauhaus-Museum at Theaterplatz shows the history of the Bauhaus design school.
• The Schlossmuseum inside the castle displays items from the early-modern court.
• The Duchess Anna Amalia Library at Platz der Demokratie is an important early-modern library with books and prints.
• The Neues Museum at Weimarplatz shows modern art.
• The Stadtmuseum at Karl-Liebknecht-Straße displays the history of Weimar’s city.
• The Kunsthalle Harry Graf Kessler at Goetheplatz hosts changing exhibits of modern art.
• The Haus am Horn at Am Horn street was the first building designed using Bauhaus principles.
• The Fürstengruft at the historic cemetery is a tomb for famous people like Goethe, Schiller, and local rulers.
• The Museum für Ur- und Frühgeschichte Thüringens at Humboldtstraße shows objects from early Thuringian history, like archaeological finds.
• The Deutsches Bienenmuseum at Ilmstraße in Oberweimar shows the only full exhibition about bees and beekeeping in Germany.

Some key museums include:
– Goethe-Nationalmuseum
– Schiller-Museum
– Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv
– Bauhaus-Museum
– Neues Museum
– Stadtmuseum
– Museum für Ur- und Frühgeschichte Thüringens

The historic city center of Weimar is located between the Ilm River to the east, Grabenstraße to the north, Goetheplatz and Theaterplatz to the west, and Schillerstraße to the south. The two main squares are Marktplatz in the south (with the town hall) and Herderplatz in the north (with the main church). Most buildings in the city center are from the 1600s and 1700s, as many medieval buildings were destroyed by fires. Two old neighborhoods are in the north (Jakobsvorstadt around St. James’ Church) and south (around Frauenplan square). Most buildings in these areas are also from the 1600s and 1700s. From the late 1800s to early 1900s, Weimar expanded in all directions. Because it was a city for government officials, homes built during this time are more solid than similar buildings in other parts of Germany. The most developed areas are near Park an der Ilm in the southeast, while the western and northern areas include more basic homes and industrial spaces. During the GDR period, two new apartment buildings were built in the west and north of the city. After 1990, some people moved to the countryside, causing growth in Weimar’s rural areas.

The main church in Weimar is the Evangelical St. Peter and Paul on Herderplatz (called Die Herderkirche). It was rebuilt in the late Gothic style after a fire around 1500. Between 1726 and 1735, its interior was redesigned in the Baroque style by Johann Adolf Richter. Johann Gottfried Herder was the church’s leader from 1766 to 1803. Another old church is St. James on Rollplatz, rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1712. The Roman Catholic church, Sacred Heart, was built between 1888 and 1891 in a style inspired by Florence Cathedral. A Russian Orthodox Chapel in the historic cemetery was built in 1862 as a tomb for Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and is one of the first Russian-style buildings in Germany.

Other churches in the suburbs include the Lutheran church in Gelmeroda, which inspired paintings by Lyonel Feininger, and the Lutheran church in Oberweimar, a former monastery and example of Gothic architecture.

Important churches include:
– St. Peter and Paul’s Church
– St. James’ Church
– Sacred Heart Church
– Russian-Orthodox Chapel
– Gelmeroda Parish Church
– Oberweimar Parish Church

Because Weimar was a ducal residence, it has many early-modern castles and palaces. The largest is the Stadtschloss at Burgplatz in the city center. The current four-wing building was started after a fire in 1774. The tower and Bastille building at its southwest edge are parts of older castles.

The Fürstenhaus at Platz der Demokratie was Weimar’s first parliament building, built in the 1770s. It now houses the Weimar School of Music. The Green Castle next to the Fürstenhaus was built in the 1560s in Renaissance style and now holds the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. The Yellow Castle at Grüner Markt was built in 1703 and is now the municipal library. The Red Castle next to it was built in the 1570s and is also part of the library. The Wittumspalais is a smaller mansion near Theaterplatz, built in 1768. Other parts of the ducal residence include the Husarenstall (1770), the former home of Charlotte von Stein at Ackerwand street, the Marstall (1870s) at Kegelplatz, now the Thuringian State Archive, and the Reithaus (1710s) in Park an der Ilm.

Important buildings include:
– Court of the Stadtschloss
– Fürstenhaus
– Green Castle
– Red Castle
– Wittumspalais
– Husarenstall
– Reithaus

Weimar also has several ducal country homes with beautiful parks and gardens. Schloss Belvedere, southeast of Weimar, was built between 1724 and 1732 in the Bar

Economy and infrastructure

The area around Weimar has rich soil, and 48% of the city's land is used for farming. Common crops include cereals, corn, and rapeseed. Famous products from Weimar include potatoes from Heichelheim, which are used to make Thuringian dumplings (called Knödel). Onions from Heldrungen and Oldisleben are sold at the Weimar Onion Market in October. Wine from the Saale-Unstrut region, made in Bad Sulza, is also well known.

Industry was not a major part of Weimar's economy, but several large factories operated in the city until 1990. After Germany was reunited, most factories closed because they could not adapt to a free market economy or were sold to business owners from western Germany, who shut them to avoid competition. In the 1990s, the government helped start new businesses, but it took until around 2006 for the economy to improve. Since then, unemployment has decreased, and new jobs have been created. Today, many small and medium-sized companies in Weimar focus on electrical engineering and technology. The local government prioritizes tourism and services over building new factories. Major companies with operations in Weimar include Bayer (pharmaceuticals), Coca-Cola (beverages), and Hydrema (dump trucks). A new commercial area focused on logistics and distribution was built in the nearby town of Nohra in the 1990s.

Weimar remains a center for government services because of its history as a capital city. Creative industries such as media, advertising, architecture, and design also contribute to the local economy. Tourism is the most important sector, with 3,500 hotel beds, 350,000 visitors, and 650,000 overnight stays in hotels in 2012. Nearby cities like Erfurt and Jena provide additional services such as shopping, trade fairs, and specialized hospitals.

Weimar is connected by the Thuringian Railway to Leipzig in the east and Frankfurt/Kassel in the west. Regional trains also run to Gera via Jena and to Kranichfeld via Bad Berka. Long-distance trains now go to Frankfurt via Erfurt and Fulda and to Dresden via Leipzig. Regional trains connect Weimar to Göttingen, Eisenach, Halle, Altenburg, Glauchau, Zwickau, Greiz, and Kranichfeld. After the Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed rail line opened in 2015, Weimar was no longer directly connected to Germany’s long-distance train network. However, regional train services have improved to link Weimar to high-speed train stops in Erfurt, Halle, and Leipzig.

For freight transport, an intermodal terminal in Vieselbach connects rail and highway systems, located 15 km west of Weimar. Weimar is on Bundesautobahn 4, which runs from Frankfurt to Dresden. Two federal roads connect Weimar to Erfurt and Jena (Bundesstraße 7) and to Rudolstadt and Kölleda (Bundesstraße 85). Regional roads link Weimar to Sömmerda, Oßmannstedt, and Magdala. A bypass road was built around Weimar in the 2000s, but plans for the eastern and southern parts are still under discussion due to challenges in planning.

The Erfurt-Weimar Airport is about 30 km west of Weimar. It expanded in the 1990s but has limited air traffic, mostly to Mediterranean destinations. Other flights are available via Frankfurt Airport (3 hours away) and Berlin Brandenburg Airport (also about 3 hours away).

Biking has become more popular since the 1990s, when quality cycle paths were built. Tourist routes include the Ilm track, which follows the Ilm River from the Thuringian Forest to the Saale River, and the Thuringian city string track, which runs near the medieval Via Regia from Eisenach through Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar, and Jena to Altenburg. Themed routes like the Goethe cycle track and the Feininger cycle track are also available. The city has bike lanes on main streets, and bike rentals are available in the city center.

Weimar has a well-developed bus system that connects the city to surrounding towns and villages. An hourly bus route serves the Buchenwald Memorial, and historic "oldtimer" buses operate in the city’s historical center. Most bus routes meet at Goethe Square and connect to the main train station. Trams operated from 1899 to 1937, and trolleybuses ran from 1948 to 1993.

After reunification, Weimar’s education system was reorganized. The Bauhaus University, founded in 1996, focuses on architecture, design, and media and has about 4,200 students. The Liszt School of Music, established in 1872, specializes in music and music education and has 850 students today. Three regular high schools (Gymnasiums) and a specialized music school, the Musikgymnasium Schloss Belvedere, and the Thuringia International School, which offers an international curriculum, also operate in the city.

Important archives in Weimar include the Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv, part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, which preserves German literary history, and the Thuringia Main State Archive, which holds government documents from the past 500 years. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library houses books and documents related to German literary and cultural history.

Politics

The most recent mayoral election was held on May 26, 2024, and the results were as follows:

The most recent city council election was held on May 26, 2024, and the results were as follows:

List of mayors and lord mayors (since 1793)

The years listed show when each person served, but these years do not match the regular calendar years.

Since 1838, the city has had a lord mayor.

• 1793–1797: Johann Heinrich Siegmund Rentsch
• 1798–1811: Carl Adolph Schultze
• 1811–1813: Daniel Wilhelm Brunnquell
• 1813: Carl Christian August Paulssen
• 1814–1820: Bernhard Friedrich Rudolph Kuhn
• 1820–1838: Carl Leberecht Schwabe
• 1838–1850: Carl Georg Hase
• 1851–1866: Wilhelm Christian Friedrich Bock
• 1867–1873: Otto Schäffer
• 1873–1875: Leo Fürbringer (conservative)
• 1875–1910: Karl Pabst (liberal)
• 1910–1920: Martin Donndorf (non-party)
• 1920–1937: Walther Felix Mueller (non-party)
• 1937–1945: Otto Koch (NSDAP)
• April 15 to April 30, 1945: Erich Kloss (non-party)
• April 1 to November 5, 1945: Fritz Behr (SPD)
• 1945–1946: Otto Faust (SPD/SED)
• 1946–1948: Gerhard Hempel (LDP)
• 1948–1953: Hermann Buchterkirchen (CDU)
• 1953–1959: Hans Wiedemann (CDU)
• 1960–1969: Luitpold Steidle (CDU)
• 1969–1970: Paul Ullmann (CDU)
• 1970–1982: Franz Kirchner (CDU)
• 1982–1989: Gerhard Baumgärtel (CDU)
• 1989–1990: Volkhardt Germer (acting) (SED)
• June 6 to July 2, 1990: Wolfgang Hentzschel (CDU)
• July 27, 1990–1994: Klaus Büttner (CDU)
• 1994–2006: Volkhardt Germer (non-party)
• 2006–2018: Stefan Wolf (SPD)
• Since July 1, 2018: Peter Kleine (independent, supporting CDU and Weimarwerk Civic Alliance)

Twin towns – sister cities

Weimar has partnerships with:

Weimar also has good relationships with:

• Fulda, Germany
• Jerusalem, Israel
• Kamakura, Japan
• Shiraz, Iran