Goethe's House and National Museum
About This Site
Goethe moved into the house on the Frauenplan as a tenant in 1782 and lived and worked there for almost fifty years, until his death in it on 22 March 1832. Eighteen of its rooms are open with his own furniture and collections, the study and private library kept as he left them; the Goethe-Nationalmuseum, founded in 1885, runs the house together with the exhibition next door.
Built 1709, rented 1782, given 1794
The house was built between 1707 and 1709 for Georg Caspar Helmershausen, a court commissioner and stocking merchant.[1] In 1782 Goethe rented its western half, and from that move he lived and worked here for almost fifty years.[1][2] In 1794 Duke Carl August gave him the house by word of mouth, in 1801 in writing, and on 12 January 1807 it was formally made over to him.[1] Between 1792 and 1795 Goethe had it extensively rebuilt in the classical style.[1]
Eighteen rooms, and the study at their heart
Many original pieces and furniture from Goethe's estate can still be seen in eighteen accessible rooms — the Juno room, the Urbino room, the majolica room, the ceiling room, the bust room, Christiane's room and the Yellow Hall among them.[2] The high point is the study, unique in how completely its furnishings have come down, with the poet's private library beside it: 5,424 titles in some 7,000 volumes.[2][1] Manuscripts and books shared the house with his steadily growing art and natural-history collections.[2]
The garden
Behind the house lies the garden with its two baroque garden houses.[1] It served above all to supply a large household with fruit and vegetables, and its layout still corresponds largely to its state in the 1820s.[2]
22 March 1832, and the museum since 1885
Goethe died in the house on 22 March 1832, sitting in his armchair.[1] On 8 August 1885 the Goethe-Nationalmuseum was founded as a foundation, and on 3 July 1886 the front house was presented as a museum.[1] Since 1998 the house has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage ensemble Classical Weimar.[1]
The museum today: the house and the exhibition next door
The Goethe-Nationalmuseum is the house together with the neighbouring exhibition Lebensfluten – Tatensturm, which shows Goethe's range beyond his literary work; one ticket covers both.[3] The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 to 16:00 in winter and 9:30 to 18:00 in summer; adults pay €14, reduced €10, pupils aged 16 to 20 €4.[3]
Questions visitors ask
- How long did Goethe live in the house on the Frauenplan?
- Almost fifty years: he moved in as a tenant in 1782 and died in the house on 22 March 1832.
- Was the house Goethe's own?
- Yes — Duke Carl August gave it to him in 1794 by word of mouth, in 1801 in writing, and on 12 January 1807 it was formally made over to him.
- What can I see inside?
- Eighteen rooms with Goethe's own furniture and collections — among them the Juno room, the bust room and the Yellow Hall — and the study with his private library of some 7,000 volumes, kept as he left it.
- What are the opening hours and prices?
- Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30–16:00 in winter and 9:30–18:00 in summer; €14 for adults, €10 reduced, €4 for pupils aged 16 to 20 — the ticket covers the house and the exhibition Lebensfluten – Tatensturm.
- Is Goethe's house a UNESCO World Heritage site?
- Yes, since 1998, as part of the ensemble Classical Weimar.
Connected Historical Figures
chamberlain • chamber councillor • jurist
The household on the Frauenplan he grew up in and lived in as an adult.
writer • statesman • naturalist
He moved in as a tenant in 1782 and lived here until his death in 1832; it is now the Goethe National Museum.
editor • salonnière
She lived in the household on the Frauenplan, later in a roof apartment of the house.
Sources (3)
- Goethes Wohnhaus — Wikipedia (de), retrieved 30 August 2026
- Goethes Wohnhaus — Klassik Stiftung Weimar, retrieved 30 August 2026
- Goethe-Nationalmuseum — Klassik Stiftung Weimar, retrieved 30 August 2026
Visit Information
€14 adults; €10 reduced; €4 pupils aged 16–20 (covers the residence and the exhibition)
Tue–Sun; 09:30–16:00 in winter, 09:30–18:00 in summer; closed Mon
Frauenplan 1, 99423 Weimar
50.9775, 11.3286
Stay and eat nearby
Where to stay
Kaufstraße 2/4, 99423 Weimar
Goethe's house is on the Frauenplan; the hotel is on the Kaufstraße.
Beethovenplatz 1-2, 99423 Weimar
Goethe's house is on the Frauenplan; the hotel is on the Beethovenplatz. The hotel's Bierstube looks towards Goethe's property.
Seifengasse 8, 99423 Weimar
Goethe's house is on the Frauenplan; the hotel is on the Seifengasse.
Markt 19, 99423 Weimar
Goethe's house is on the Frauenplan; the hotel is on the Markt.
Eisfeld 1a, 99423 Weimar
Goethe's house is on the Frauenplan; the pension is on the Eisfeld.
Where to eat
Schillerstraße 2, Weimar
The café gives its own setting as a view of the Goethehaus, from the top of the Schillerstraße.
Frauentorstraße 23, Weimar
The house stands directly opposite Goethe's home on the Frauenplan — its own description of where it is.
Frauenplan 13, Weimar
Directly across the Frauenplan from Goethe's house: number 13 faces number 1.
Events held here
Events
Fridays at 18:00 and Saturdays at 16:00, about ninety minutes
The Frauenplan house, on the route.
Daily at 10:00 and 14:00, about two hours
The Frauenplan house, where he spent his last fifty years.
Fridays and Saturdays from 20:30, 21 March to 1 November
The Frauenplan comes early on the route.
One Sunday in May, every year
The house takes part twice over — as a short drop-in visit, and as a virtual-reality version of itself.
One Saturday night in May, 18:00 to midnight
The house people queue for by day, walked through after dark instead.
One day in June
The house on the Frauenplan, where Goethe lived for the last fifty years of his life, is one of the properties the ensemble names.
In Weimar's history
Historic sites
The burgher-baroque house that stands for the classical town.
In Weimar's history
He died in the house on the Frauenplan he had rented since 1782, and on 26 March was carried into the ducal vault to lie beside Schiller.
Where he died, after almost fifty years as its tenant.
Twice in three years the World Heritage Committee put Weimar on its list: the Bauhaus buildings on 7 December 1996, and the eleven monuments of Classical Weimar on 2 December 1998.
The house on the Frauenplan, one of the eleven monuments of Classical Weimar since 1998.
Stages and venues
The house stands on the square, at Frauenplan 1.