GoetheStadtMuseum Ilmenau

About the museum

The administrative house on the market goes back to a Renaissance building that Countess Sophie of Henneberg had erected in 1616. From 1634 it served the dukes of Saxe-Weimar as an administrative office and residence. After the great town fire of 1752, it was rebuilt to plans by the baroque master builder Gottfried Heinrich Krohne; the Henneberg coat of arms and the year 1616 in the gable recall the earlier building.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stayed in Ilmenau 26 times in total, first in May 1776. As an official of Duke Carl August, he was to revive the abandoned copper and silver mining and reorganize the town's disordered tax affairs. During his visits, he lived and worked in the ducal rooms on the first floor of the administrative house, which were used as a princely quarters until 1918.

In 1931 the local history museum moved with a Goethe memorial room to the ground floor; for the poet's 200th birthday in 1949 it occupied rooms on the upper floor. The town bought the house in 2002 and had it thoroughly renovated by 2008; today the GoetheStadtMuseum, the Ilmenau Information office and the cultural office share the building.

The permanent exhibition on around 180 square meters follows Goethe's tasks in Ilmenau as a state official, natural scientist and poet, shows the historic living room with its stucco ceiling and plank floor, and tells the town's history from glass and porcelain production to the spa town of the 19th century. Listening stations, tactile display cases and a walk-in mine gallery make the mining history tangible. Together with the Jagdhaus Gabelbach and the Goethehaus Stützerbach, the house is one of the town's three Goethe museums.

Highlights

• Goethe's historic living room with original stucco ceiling and plank floor
• Walk-in mine gallery with knocking sounds
• Gas lighter with electric ignition from around 1810
• Glass sphere by Ilmenau artist Max Grimm with Goethe on the Kickelhahn
• Porcelain from Ilmenau manufactories since 1777

Permanent exhibition

• Goethe in Ilmenau und Stadtgeschichte – The permanent exhibition presents Goethe as a state official, natural scientist and poet in Ilmenau, and covers the town's mining, glass and porcelain production and spa history.

Operated by

Stadt Ilmenau

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Goethe's birthday (August 28), Open Monument Day (2nd Sunday in September), World Children's Day (September 20)

Uniform prices for the town's three Goethe museums. Free admission with the weimar card plus.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Step-free access via the side entrance with a platform lift (platform 90 × 200 cm), elevator in the building, doors at least 80 cm wide; ramps with gradients of up to 15% between the exhibition areas. Accessible toilet available. An accessible parking space is in the courtyard, 17 m from the entrance. Checked under the "Reisen für Alle" program (valid until May 2029).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

The house sees itself as a hands-on museum with listening stations, films and tactile display cases; the walk-in mine gallery is especially popular with children. There are separate tours for children's and school groups and a combined city and museum tour. Admission is free on World Children's Day (September 20).

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the administrative house directly on the market in Ilmenau's city center; the Ilmenau Information office is in the same building.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit