Jakobskirche and its churchyard
About This Site
A plain Baroque box on a low hill north of the centre, and one of the densest few hundred square metres in Weimar: Goethe was married in the sacristy, and Cranach the Elder lies in the churchyard outside.
A pilgrims' church, taken down and built again, 1168–1713
St James was raised as a pilgrims' church on the road to Santiago de Compostela, and a first building on this spot was consecrated in 1168. By the early eighteenth century it was falling in on itself. Duke Wilhelm Ernst had it demolished in 1712/13 and rebuilt as a single-nave Baroque church — the plain, bright box a visitor walks into now, on the hill that took its name from the saint.
The town's understudy, 1728–1774
It has spent three centuries standing in for grander buildings. From 1728 it was the garrison church. From 1774 it was the court church as well, because the fire of that May destroyed the chapel in the palace and the ducal household needed somewhere to worship — a role it kept while the palace was rebuilt without a chapel at all.
The wedding in the sacristy, 1806
On 19 October 1806, in the sacristy of this church, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe married Christiane Vulpius. They had met in July 1788 and their son was born the following year, so the wedding was the formalisation and not the beginning. The ceremony was performed by Oberkonsistorialrat Günther, and it took place in a side room rather than the nave — about as quietly as a wedding can be held.
The churchyard, since the 12th century
The Jakobskirchhof around the church has been a burial ground since the twelfth century and is no longer in use. The grave of Lucas Cranach the Elder is here — the painter who died on the market square in 1553 lies not in the church he painted the altar for but up this hill. Christiane von Goethe is buried here too, which makes the churchyard the second half of the story the sacristy tells.
One of the Bach places
The Thuringian Bach festival counts this church among the Weimar places of Bach's that can still be visited, alongside the Herderkirche and the palace. It is a modest claim honestly made: the building he knew was this one, rebuilt four years after he arrived in town.
Questions visitors ask
- Where was Goethe married?
- In the sacristy of the Jakobskirche, on 19 October 1806, to Christiane Vulpius. The ceremony was performed by Oberkonsistorialrat Günther, in a side room rather than the nave.
- How old is the church?
- The first building on this site was consecrated in 1168, as a pilgrims' church on the road to Santiago de Compostela. What stands today is a Baroque rebuilding of 1712/13, ordered by Duke Wilhelm Ernst after the earlier church fell into disrepair.
- Who is buried in the churchyard?
- Lucas Cranach the Elder, who died on the market square in 1553, and Christiane von Goethe. The churchyard has been a burial ground since the twelfth century and is no longer in use.
- Can I visit?
- Yes — the church is open daily, 10:00 to 18:00 in summer and 10:00 to 16:00 in winter, with a Sunday service at 10:00.
- What is the connection to Johann Sebastian Bach?
- The Thuringian Bach festival counts the Jakobskirche among the Weimar places of Bach's that can still be visited, alongside the Herderkirche and the Stadtschloss — the building he knew was rebuilt four years after he arrived in Weimar.
Connected Historical Figures
duke • patron
He had the dilapidated church demolished and rebuilt in 1712/13.
painter • printmaker
His grave is in the churchyard here, three years after he came to Weimar with the deposed elector.
composer • musician • organist
The Thuringian Bach festival names this church among the Weimar places of his that can be visited.
writer • statesman • naturalist
He married Christiane Vulpius in this sacristy on 19 October 1806.
companion • wife of Goethe
Married here on 19 October 1806, and buried in the churchyard.
Visit Information
Summer daily 10:00–18:00, winter daily 10:00–16:00; service Sundays at 10:00.
Am Rollplatz 4, 99423 Weimar
50.9834, 11.3276
In Weimar's history
Historical periods
Rebuilt by the Baroque court, made garrison church in 1728 and court church in 1774 when the castle chapel burned.
The century and a half between two castle fires is the Weimar nobody puts on a poster, and it is the one that made the town musical. It opens with a burnt-out castle in 1618 and closes with another one in 1774 — and in between, in a chapel that no longer exists, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote most of his organ music.
In Weimar's history
The Baroque residence burned down to its tower and gatehouse, and the room Bach had played in was gone for good.
It became the court church because the fire left the palace without a chapel.
Weimar's 1989 does not run to the familiar national calendar. It began at a rigged-looking election count in May, gathered in the churches in October, and reached the street late — on Tuesdays.
The parish house was one of the rooms in which the alternative gathered before anyone went into the street.