The German National Theatre and other Weimar, Germany Things to Do Tips

The German National Theatre in Weimar was built in 1908 and rebuilt after it was destroyed during WW2. It was used in 1919 to drawn up the constitution for the new German Reich and hence the label it was given of the ‘Weimar Republic.’ The building has been rebuilt a number of times and has several artistic claims. Goethe was the director here from 1791 to 1817, and Strauss and Liszt were its musical directors during the late 19th century.

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Address: Theatreplatz
Website: http://www.nationaltheater-weimar.de/2004/index.html

A hotel has stood on this sight since at least 1696. The present Elephant Hotel was completely rebuilt in 1938. Adolf Hitler use to stand on the balcony giving speeches to the crowds in the Market Square below and reviewing troops. A cut out figure now stands in the same position. Numerous other famous people have stayed in Weimar’s most famous hotel including Leo Tolstoy and J. S. Bach.

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Address: Markt 19 · Weimar 99423
Directions: In the Market Square.

The Soviet Cemetery was set up in June 1945 and by April 1946, 640 members of the Soviet Army had been interred here. The cemetery is in Park on the Ilm and it has raised controvesy over the years with its location and the park’s association with Goethe. It is located in tranquil setting and took me a while to find. The headstones have names on both sides which is something I have not seen before but is an obvious way of saving space and money.

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Address: Park on the Ilm, Weimar
Directions: The cemetery is number 20 on the park maps
Website: http://www.weimar.de/en/tourism/homepage/sights/buildings-architecture/cemeteries/

The Bauhaus School and movement was founded in Weimar in 1919 by Walter Gropius and remained there until the Bauhaus was moved to Dessau in 1925. It was the twentieth century's most important school of design, architecture and art and its influence spread across the world after it was dissolved by the Nazis and its main figures moved to other countries. This laid the foundation for the success of the school worldwide and its programme and products have maintained their influence on design up to the present day.

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Address: Theatreplatz
Directions: Opposite the German National Theatre
Website: http://www.kunstfreunde-weimar.de/kusa/web/index.php/en/bau/allg/

Buchenwald (Beech Tree Forest) Concentration Camp is located on the northern outskirts of Weimar off Ettersburger Strasse, and is marked by an obelisk, that was originally located at the gatehouse and was the first memorial at the camp. You have to travel along the Road of Blood up the Ettersburg. The Road of Blood was built by the prisoners of cobble stones in 1939 and is about 4 kms in length before you reach the camp. There was a railway line that ran parallel with the road but most of this has become overgrown, though in recent times some parts have been exposed. You pass the coach park and into the main car park that was used by the SS as a parade ground. Buchenwald was opened in July 1937 and was liberated on 11th April 1945. During its 8 year history some 240,000 prisoners were sent to Buchenwald though this number could be higher because not all the prisoners were recorded. Some 65,000 of these prisoners lost their lives at Buchenwald.

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Phone: +49 (0)3643/4300
Address: Gedenkstätte Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar-Buchenwald
Directions: 10 kms north of Weimar.
Website: http://www.buchenwald.de

Opposite the car park at Buchenwald is a number of large yellow buildings with red tile roofs, these are the former barracks blocks for the SS. There were built between 1937 and 1939 and there was originally 18 buildings. Unusually, the layout for the buildings, car park and the camp is not symmetrical like all the other camps I have been too. The former SS parade ground that is now the car park has a semicircle shape which is not ideal for marching. I asked the staff as to why this design was adopted, but nothing has been recorded as to the reasons why and the best guess is the topography of the area. One of the first places to visit is the information building that has numerous leaflets, books, audio aids and information. There is a cinema close by, showing a film of the history of camp with English sub titles. Toilets and a café are also located within this area.

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Phone: +49 (0)3643/4300
Address: Gedenkstätte Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar-Buchenwald
Directions: 10 kms north of Weimar.
Website: http://www.buchenwald.de

The gatehouse which was the only entrance to the camp for prisoner was built in 1937 with a clock tower. The clock has been stopped at 3.15 pm, the exact time the camp was taken over by the inmates on 11th April 1945. The balcony of the clock tower was used by guards watching the camp. One wing of the building was the prison block and the other wing was for the SS administration. Inscribed on the inside of the entrance gate is the words Jedem das Seine, ‘To each his own’.

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Phone: +49 (0)3643/4300
Address: Gedenkstätte Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar-Buchenwald
Directions: 10 kms north of Weimar.
Website: http://www.buchenwald.de

One of the few remaining buildings inside the camp is the former store house (the depot), that has now been turned into an excellent museum coving the history of the camp and its inmates, though it glosses over the horrors of the camp. The building which was built in 1939 was originally used to store the clothes and personal effects of the inmates. Written guides to the museum are available in a number of languages and it’s easy to spend several hours looking around the 2 floors.

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Phone: +49 (0)3643/4300
Address: Gedenkstätte Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar-Buchenwald
Directions: 10 kms north of Weimar.
Website: http://www.buchenwald.de

Next to the depot is the former disinfection building that was built in 1942. Here the new arrivals had their heads and bodies shaved and then afterwards they had to take a disinfection bath to kill any lice and prevent disease. Their clothes were taken away and disinfected with Zyklon B and then stored in the depot ready to be collected on their release. There names were then replaced with numbers. Since 1990 the building has been used as an art museum though the disinfection chambers are still on display.

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Phone: +49 (0)3643/4300
Address: Gedenkstätte Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar-Buchenwald
Directions: 10 kms north of Weimar.
Website: http://www.buchenwald.de

The crematorium, which was built in 1942, is one of the few buildings at Buchenwald that has survived. Unusually the crematorium is located inside the camp, whereas normally they were outside of the camps. There is a copse cellar where the bodies were thrown into before cremation. There was a pathology room where gold filling could be extracted from the bodies. There is a display of empty urns which were found in the crematorium. In the early days of the camp the ashes of inmates were returned to the families.

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Phone: +49 (0)3643/4300
Address: Gedenkstätte Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar-Buchenwald
Directions: 10 kms north of Weimar.
Website: http://www.buchenwald.de