Jagdhaus Gabelbach

About the museum

Duke Carl August of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach had the lodge built within a single summer in 1783 to accommodate his hunting parties. The late Baroque, rather plain building was constructed partly with stones from the ruins of Ilmenau Castle and timber from the surrounding forests. Goethe, who often came to Ilmenau because of its mining and for his studies of nature, was a frequent guest here, as was his friend Karl Ludwig von Knebel.

In the 19th century a circle of writers met at the lodge, whose wider orbit included Joseph Victor von Scheffel and Rudolf Baumbach; the idea for the observation tower on the Kickelhahn is also said to have originated here. The building was initially state property and later passed to the predecessors of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, who opened it as a memorial site in 1969.

Since 2008 the City of Ilmenau has been responsible for the museum. Following a renovation, an exhibition on the Kickelhahn forest and its use since Goethe's time opened on the first floor in 2012; in 2015 a redesigned exhibition on the second floor followed, covering Goethe's stays, his conversation partners in Ilmenau and his interest in natural history. The lodge lies on the Goethewanderweg hiking trail and, together with the GoetheStadtMuseum and the Goethehaus Stützerbach, is one of the city's three Goethe museums.

Highlights

• Banquet hall and Goethe's former apartment on the second floor
• Original door of the hut on the Kickelhahn where “Wandrers Nachtlied” (Wanderer's Night Song) was written; the hut burned down in 1870
• Living room with furniture once owned by the von Stein family
• Gigapixel panorama from the Hermannstein compared with Goethe's drawing of 1776
• Animal and plant specimens and historic hunting equipment from the Kickelhahn hunting grounds
• Forest adventure with Kicki the capercaillie for children (April to November)

Permanent exhibitions

• Der Kickelhahn – Goethes Wald im Wandel – Exhibition on the first floor about the use, protection and cultural significance of the Kickelhahn forest since Goethe's time, with specimens, hunting objects and media stations.
• Goethe, die Natur und seine Ilmenauer Weggefährten – Exhibition on the second floor about Goethe's stays, the writing of “Wandrers Nachtlied” and his exchanges with Ilmenau mining officials and naturalists.

Founded

1969

Operated by

Stadt Ilmenau

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Goethe's birthday (August 28), Tag des offenen Denkmals (Heritage Open Day, 2nd Sunday in September), World Children's Day (September 20)

Uniform prices for all three of Ilmenau's Goethe museums. Free admission with the weimar card plus and for members of ICOM, the Deutscher Museumsbund, the Museumsverband Thüringen and Ilmenau's Goethe friends' associations.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum's mascot is the capercaillie Kicki. At "Kickis Waldabenteuer" (Kicki's Forest Adventure), children explore forest topics for about two hours, roughly monthly on Saturdays from 10:00; registration at least two days in advance, €1 per child, bring weatherproof clothing and snacks. Admission is free on World Children's Day (September 20).

Getting there & parking

The house is located on the Goethewanderweg below the Kickelhahn summit, about 3 km south of the center of Ilmenau.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit