Classic City

Weimar owes its name – the classic city – to the epoch of the late eighteenth, early nineteenth century. Ever since the Renaissance, personalities like Martin Luther, Lucas Cranach or J.S. Bach felt attracted to Weimar. Yet it is the classical period, during which Weimar became the pinnacle and centre of cultural life in Germany.
The engaged and art-minded Duchess Anna Amalia and her son, the then Duke Carl August, succeeded in attracting and tying to their court some of the best poets and intellectuals of her time, among them, in 1775, Goethe. Within a short period of time, a lively intellectual life developed in the quiet provincial town of Weimar. As a result, the importance and fame of the city grew significantly and remained for decades.
The reign of the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna revived the importance of Weimar in the middle of the 19th century. During this time Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner amongst others resided in the city.
This heritage has been preserved and maintained since, and was honoured particularly when Weimar was nominated European Capital of Culture in 1999.