Park on the Ilm river

Auf dem Weg zu Goethes Gartenhaus

Der 48 Hektar große Landschaftspark am Rande der Weimarer Altstadt ist Teil eines kilometerlangen Grünzugs entlang der Ilm.
Er entstand in der Zeit von 1778 bis 1828 und weist sowohl empfindsame als auch klassische und nachklassisch-romantische Züge auf. Die Entstehung des Parks an der Ilm ist eng mit Goethes Leben und Wirken in Weimar verbunden.

The creation of the park on the Ilm river is closely linked with Goethe’s life and work in Weimar. In 1776, Duke Carl August gave the poet a small house with a garden, today known as Goethe's garden house. The first constructions and developments appeared in 1778 on the rocky western slope. Paths were subsequently laid, seating installed, monuments, bridges and other park architecture built. Numerous trees and bushes were also planted. The old palace gardens such as the »Stern« and the »Welsche Garten« were redesigned and integrated into the park.

Between 1791 and 1797, the Duke had the Roman house built in classical style. This is the main design featured in the southern part of the park.

Important characteristics of the park such as the numerous lines of sight linking features with Goethe’s garden house, the Roman House and the Bark House within the park connect with each other together also with the surrounding countryside as well as establish the relationship with the environment.

The work largely came to an end in 1828 with the death of Carl August, who had been a significant driving force behind the design of the park.
Over the following decades, the park was maintained but part of its direct connection with the surrounding landscape disappeared due to building work such as the street “Am Horn”. Moreover, insufficient care of the trees and shrubs puts its original appearance at risk. Extensive reconstruction, preservation and maintenance work was carried out on the trees, shrubs, paths and architecture only when the park was taken over by the National Research and Memorial Sites of Classical German Literature (NFG) in 1970. The park on the Ilm river has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.