"Weimar" a Weimar Travel Page by alancollins

In the past Weimar became known as centre for culture, famous for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Gottfried von Herder and Friedrich von Schiller. After the end of the Great War a new constitution for the German Reich (Weimar Republic) was drafted in 1919 in the city. Weimar was chosen because of its central location within the country and because Berlin was unsafe at the time because of public disorder. This was the first time that Germany had been a democracy and over the next few years it had its ups and downs. Unfortunately the new constitution contained a fatal flaw, Article 48, which allowed the Chancellor to rule for short periods with complete autonomy during times of emergency. Soon after Adolf Hitler came to power the Riechstag was set on fire. Because of the fire Adolf Hitler invoked Article 48 allowing him rule by decree. Within a short space of time democracy ended altogether in Germany and Adolf Hitler became dictator.