Weimar

Town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, on the River Elm; population (1995) 62,300. Products include farm machinery and textiles.

It was the capital of the grand duchy of Saxe-Weimar 1815–1918 and of Thuringia (1919–45). In 1919 the German National Assembly drew up the constitution of the new Weimar Republic here. The writers Goethe, Schiller, and Herder, and the composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Liszt lived in the town. The former concentration camp of Buchenwald is nearby.

The cultural traditions, history, and architecture resulted in Weimar being designated Europe's ‘Cultural Capital’ for 1999. The castle (1801–03) is neoclassical, with three older ones: the Green (1563, rebuilt 18th century), the Red (1574–76), and the Yellow (1702) castles. There is a university, art galleries, archives, and museums.