Goethes Ilmenau

,,I always liked being here and I still do …,” wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Friedrich Schiller about Ilmenau: “I believe it stems from the harmony that prevails here: the surroundings, the people, the climate, the pace of life.”

Ilmenau and Weimar are closely linked through Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Already six months after his arrival at the Weimar court, Duke Carl August sent him to the town at the foot of the Kickelhahn. On May 3, 1776, Goethe arrived in Ilmenau for the first time and stayed there for seven days. In the following decades, he returned to the town a total of 26 times, rarely staying for more than one night.

A significant event took place in 1784. As head of the Mining Commission, Goethe himself symbolically broke ground for the “Neuer Johannes” shaft. This project was intended to revive mining in the region and give new impetus to the economically weakened area.

But Ilmenau was far more than just a place of administrative duties for Goethe. In the forests and mountains of the Thuringian Forest, you will find inspiration, peace, and inner reflection. High above the city, on September 6, 1780, he wrote his famous poem “Wandrers Nachtlied” in pencil on the wooden wall of the small shelter—today’s Goethehäuschen.                                                      

Goethe's last stay in 1831 is particularly remembered. On the occasion of his 82nd birthday, he visited the places that had accompanied and shaped him over decades, together with his grandsons Walther and Wolfgang   . It was to be his last birthday, as he passed away just a few months later in Weimar.

Ilmenau is therefore not a nostalgic monument, but a place of vibrant cultural identity. Here, natural surroundings, historical responsibility, and intellectual depth come together to form a unique cultural landscape. For us, Ilmenau stands for authenticity, cultural heritage, and a sustainable identity.