Historic Cemetery & Ducal Vault

Weimar's Historic Cemetery (Historischer Friedhof) is a park-like burial ground established in 1818 by the ducal family. It is best known for the Princes' Crypt (Fürstengruft), a classical mausoleum on a hill that holds the tombs of Weimar's most illustrious figures. Here lie the remains of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller – whose coffins rest side by side in the crypt's central chamber, making this a pilgrimage site for literature lovers. (Schiller's burial is symbolic; his exact remains are disputed.) The crypt also contains members of the ducal house, including Duke Carl August and Duchess Maria Pavlovna. Outside the mausoleum, the serene cemetery features winding paths and graves of other notable citizens (e.g. composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel). Tall oaks and lindens shade ornate 19th-century tombstones, creating a romantic atmosphere. During the GDR era, the cemetery was somewhat neglected, but it was later carefully restored. Today it's part of the Classical Weimar World Heritage. Visitors can enter the crypt (for a fee) to see Goethe's and Schiller's lead sarcophagi and pay respects. The Historic Cemetery is both a resting place and a monument to Weimar's cultural golden age, connecting mortality with immortality through its famous dead.