Hoffmann's Buchhandlung
About This Site
A bookshop trading since 1710 — founded by Heinrich Siegmund Hoffmann, the privileged court bookseller, and once the shop where Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Duchess Anna Amalia bought their books.[1]
The court bookseller, 1710–1898
Heinrich Siegmund Hoffmann founded the business in 1710 and held the privilege of court bookseller.[1] From 1742 the shop stood in the Cranachhaus on the market square, where Goethe was a frequent visitor — he also read the weekly paper Hoffmann published — and Friedrich Schiller, Johann Gottfried Herder and Duchess Anna Amalia were regular customers.[1]
On the Schillerstraße since 1898
The shop has stood at Schillerstraße 9 since 1898, and with Kuno Gräf's purchase in 1910 it passed to the Gräf family, whose it remains — the lettering over the windows says it plainly: gegr. 1710.[1]
Questions visitors ask
- How old is Hoffmann's Buchhandlung?
- It was founded in 1710 by Heinrich Siegmund Hoffmann, the privileged court bookseller — over three centuries of bookselling.[1]
- Did Goethe really shop here?
- Yes — in the shop's Cranachhaus years Goethe came often and read the weekly paper Hoffmann published; Schiller, Herder and Duchess Anna Amalia were regulars too.[1]
Sources
- Hoffmann's Buchhandlung — Wikipedia, retrieved 31 August 2026
Connected Historical Figures
writer • statesman • naturalist
A frequent visitor in the shop's Cranachhaus years, who also read the weekly paper Hoffmann published.
writer • poet • historian
One of the shop's regular customers in the classical decades.
philosopher • theologian • poet
One of the shop's regular customers in the classical decades.
duchess • regent • patron • composer
The duchess was among the shop's regular customers.
Visit Information
Schillerstraße 9, 99423 Weimar