44906NOR
Excursion
Weimar Facts and Free Time
Weimar morning sightseeing with TM
Buchenwald Camp Memorial excursion and visit
· Mention to the group the night before that they should dress appropriately for the visit to Buchenwald.
· See ACIS TM notes (Dachau and Buchenwald).
· You need cash or ACIS card for entrances to Goethe’s House and Widow’s Palace
Your walking tour of Weimar should include the Theaterplatz (Deutches Nationaltheater and Goethe and Schiller statues), the Markt (Lucas Cranach House and Town Hall), the Stadtkirche and the Stadtschloss as well as inside visits of the Widow’s Palace and Goethe’s House. If you don’t have a written reservation for these visits in your TM envelope you should call several days in advance to arrange one, if not you may be unable to visit these museums as a group. In this case tell the group to visit them in their free time. You reimburse them.
14.00 Departure for Buchenwald. Take the Ettersburger Strasse. 2km after the Weimar town limits sign you come to an obelisk marking the start of the camp access route, built by the inmates in 1939 and called “Blutstrasse” by them. 3km further on is the memorial.
14.20 Arrival at the memorial site.
14.45 Continue to the camp. Turn left into the former SS exercise yard. Set down and lead them to the reception building. Pick up leaflets in English for everybody.
Walk with the group to the entrance of the actual camp and help them to orient themselves by referring to the leaflet. As in Dachau, most of the camp buildings have disappeared, the restored crematorium is on the right; further on you will find the disinfection building and the museum in the former warehouse used to store the personal belongings of the prisoners. The exhibition is very detailed, and features 2 video films in German. The group might want to have 45 minutes to 1 hour for this visit. There is also an exhibition on the use
of Buchenwald as an internment camp by the occupying Soviet forces between 1945 and 1950. To get to it, walk around the main museum to your left, downhill and left again.
A 30 minute film, in German with English subtitles, is shown hourly in the reception building. You can ask for a special screening for your group if you think it would be a good idea.
There are toilets in the reception building and at the museum.
17.00 Departure from Buchenwald. Return to Weimar by the same route.
WEIMAR FACTS AND FREE TIME
THINGS TO DO
Museums
Most museums are closed on Monday, except Schiller’s House closed Tuesday.
Stadtschloss Museum
Impressive painting gallery including some famous Cranachs.
Goethe’s House
Goethe lived here for the last 20 years of his life.
Schiller’s House
After Goethe’s House, Weimar’s second site of pilgrimage. William Tell was written here.
Liszt’s House
Franz Liszt lived here from 1869-1886. Open April – October.
Duchess Anna Amalia Library
The small but magnificent Rococo library made international headlines in 2004 when it caught fire. It’s very difficult to visit with groups, and only 70 tickets a day are released to individuals. If anyone is interested, they can try the ticket booth from 9am daily. They might be lucky out of season.
WALKS
The Ilm Park and Goethe’s Pavilion.Cross the bridge behind the castle and walk upstream along the Ilm towards Goethe’s pavilion (Gartenhaus). This retreat was given to Goethe by Augustus the strong. Facing the pavilion is Augustus’s own retreat, the Borkenhäuschen.
The Alte Friedhof (Cemetery) with an impressive funerary monument to Goethe and Schiller (erected 1827)
EVENING ACTIVITIES
Weimar is not the liveliest town in the evening but…
If you have serious Germanic culture vultures then they might try to get tickets for a performance at the German National Theatre. Tickets available from the box office and the Tourist Office. Call a few days in advance if possible.
There are several good cafes and bars in the centre some of which may have music. It’s best to check the local listings and ask at your hotel.