Classicism
Schiller and Goethe
Goethe and Schiller were among the leading lights of German Classicism. Thanks to them, Thuringia became a place of great cultural achievements. Their works still feature on the school curriculum in many countries. While Friedrich Schiller was almost exclusively engaged with poetry, philosophy and history, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a true all-rounder. In addition to his activities as a poet and public servant, he excelled as a naturalist, a mining official and a collector of minerals. He even wrote a theory of colours. Goethe and Schiller’s houses and manuscripts are a feature of the Classical Weimar UNESCO World Heritage ensemble. Sites associated with their lives and legacies can also be found in other places in Thuringia, including Jena University, where Schiller was a professor, and the Schiller House in Rudolstadt, where the pair first met. On the Schiller and Goethe walking trails, you can make fascinating discoveries amidst picturesque scenery – the perfect combination of culture and nature.
