The Collections  

The Klassik Stiftung Weimar is responsible for preserving, studying and presenting the multifaceted collections of the former Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach. Five castles, numerous residences with gardens and parks, the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, the Goethe National Museum and the Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv are authentic venues and protected landmarks where outstanding artworks and objects from the Middle Ages to the age of Weimar Classicism to early modernism around 1900 are preserved and presented, along with rare and exquisite manuscripts, books and archived documents.

In the tradition of art patronage cultivated by the central Thuringian Ernestine duchy of the Wettin dynasty, significant parts of this national cultural treasure were permanently safeguarded for the public domain in 2003 thanks to an amicable settlement between Princess Leonie of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach and the Free State of Thuringia. Whenever exhibited and/or published, these items are distinguished as originating “from the private collection of the formerly ruling Grand Ducal House of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach”.

The Weimar Residential Castle (City Castle)

The Ernestine dynasty had ruled the duchy – and grand duchy after 1815 – for almost four hundred years with Weimar as its ducal seat. By the time of the Reformation, the Ernestines had amassed significant artworks and book collections which Johann Friedrich, the Magnanimous, brought with him to Weimar in 1547 after establishing his residence there. While some 500 precious volumes were added to the library in the Residential Castle in 1691 thanks to a partition treaty, Weimar lost a number of important artworks in the 17th century due to hereditary division. In 1766 Duchess Anna Amalia moved the library to the Green Castle with its famous three-story Rococo Hall, which she had specially refurbished for this purpose. Under Goethe’s direction, the collection swelled to 80,000 volumes by 1832. The recultivated collections after 1700 suffered enormous losses after a fire swept through the Residential Castle in 1774. When the ducal family moved back into the newly rebuilt Classical three-winged complex in 1803, the picture gallery, the graphic art collection and the former art collection were put into storage at the Historic Library building. During the 19th century, the Grand Ducal House gradually opened its art collections to the public. The Grand Ducal Museum, designed by the Czech architect Josef Zítek, opened in 1869. In 1870, the Museum of Courtly Culture of the Goethe Era was installed in the Wittumspalais, and in 1907, Tiefurt Mansion became a commemorative site dedicated to the era of Duchess Anna Amalia.

After the monarchy

In the aftermath of the November Revolution of 1918, Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst was forced to relinquish power. The estates and possessions of the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach were confiscated by the authorities. The financial arrangements were negotiated in an agreement in 1921, in which ownership of all ducal estates including the crown estate was to be transferred to Weimar. For his part, Wilhelm Ernst agreed – also on the part of his legal successors – to continue to grant public access to the private art collections of the former grand duchy. In 1922 the Weimar State Art Collections were established, comprising the collections at the State Museum (formerly the Grand Ducal Museum, today the Museum Neues Weimar), the Residential Castle and Belvedere Castle. The historical furnishings inside the castles, particularly Belvedere and Ettersburg Castles, which were maintained by the State of Thuringia, remained in the possession of the Grand Ducal House. The Grand Ducal family was also permitted to continue living in the Residential Castle. Ownership of the private art collection at the Wartburg was transferred to a public foundation which still exists today, while the Carl Alexander Library and other pieces of real estate in Eisenach remained in the possession of the Grand Ducal House. Numerous items in the holdings in Silesia and Thuringia were lost due to plundering during and after World War II.

Soviet occupation and the GDR

After World War II, the State of Thuringia passed the Princely Expropriation Act, by which it seized ownership of all art collections and cultural assets which had been privately-owned by the Grand Ducal House of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach. To prevent foreseeable lawsuits, the members of the Grand Ducal House were stripped of their rights as citizens of the state. While the art and literature collections were managed and studied by the National Research and Memorial Sites of Classic German Literature in Weimar (NFG), established in 1953, important interior furnishings in the Weimar Residential Castle and the Wartburg fortress were either intentionally destroyed or lost due to inappropriate storage conditions. Significant parts of other collections, e.g. the former Ettersburg musket collection, as well as paintings and furniture, were sent away to other museums in East Germany (Dresden, Meiningen etc.) and have yet to be returned.

After German reunification

In 1990, on behalf of the heirs of the Hereditary Grand Duke Karl-August, Prince Michael of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach submitted a formal petition for the restitution of his family’s mobile and immobile assets. In 1994 the German Bundestag passed the “Indemnification and Compensation Act” (EALG) which provided the terms for restitution of artworks, archival documents and books, but exempted claims to real estate. Furthermore, all cultural assets displayed in museums were to remain publicly accessible and free of charge for a period of 20 years.

As part of an amicable settlement with the Free State of Thuringia, Prince Michael of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach, as the legal representative of his still underaged daughter and sole heiress Princess Leonie, agreed to cede all legal claims to assets formerly owned by the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach in exchange for a symbolic payment of compensation. In the longstanding tradition of art patronage for which his ancestors were known, he provided the necessary prerequisites for today’s Klassik Stiftung Weimar. Today, his daughter Princess Leonie is a permanent member of the Foundation Board. For his role in what was ultimately an extraordinary donation of cultural assets to a public institution of the German federal government, Prince Michael was awarded the AsKI “Mäcenas Prize” in 2005.

An example of this trusting relationship and mutual responsibility came in 2013 with the return of the portrait of Duchess Anna Amalia to its original location in the Roman House. Painted by Angelika Kauffmann in Rome in 1789, the portrait had gone missing after World War II, but was secured for the Klassik Stiftung Weimar thanks to the financial support of Prince Michael.