Projects of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Thuringia, represented by the State Chancellery of Thuringia, Department of Culture and the Arts.
- Open
In 2026 the Klassik Stiftung Weimar opens its doors, collections and perspectives with inspiring, accessible and participative events that allow you to re-discover our shared culture and the city of Weimar. Based on the motto “OPEN”, the Klassik Stiftung presents a behind-the-scenes view of one of Germany’s largest cultural institutions. The Theme Year features a diverse array of exhibitions, projects and discussions in newly renovated and reopened sites that offer new ways to appreciate our world cultural heritage and introduce you to current views on the past and present. In the coming year, Weimar will be a place where spaces, stories and community come to life in a whole new way.
After eight years of renovation work, the east wing of the Weimar City Castle will be the first section to open its doors to visitors at the beginning of October 2026. The new visitor centre in the historic arcade of the Green House – the oldest part of the Castle – is designed as a starting point for discovering Weimar.
With a brand-new event room, the Klassik Stiftung has created a meeting place inside the City Castle for all residents of Weimar. Be it academic conferences, theatre pieces, concerts, social functions or programmes by the Circle of Friends of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the space provides modern technical possibilities for every format – from discussions to festivities. The Klassik Stiftung expressly invites all cultural and social stakeholders of Weimar to join us in developing, experiencing and enjoying this new space.
The Co-Lab – the temporary meeting and event platform installed between the Weimar City Castle and the Park on the Ilm for the past five years – will be moving into the Castle’s inner courtyard. With a fresh new look, the Co-Lab will remain a popular forum of exchange with numerous opportunities for cultural participation by visitors, school classes and town residents.
The opening weekend of 2-4 October 2026 will be the culmination of the Theme Year “OPEN” when visitors of all ages are invited to re-discover Weimar and its myriad cultural facets.
On 30 April 2026 the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, its museum departments and the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek invite the city to a public festival to mark the reopening of the Wittumspalais on Theaterplatz.
The special exhibition “The Hidden Painting of Barbara Rosina de Gasc” presents fascinating insights into the origins and restoration history of the extraordinary, life-size painting “Anna Amalia and her sons” by the Braunschweig court painter Barbara Rosina de Gasc. It turns out that its large format was programmatic for the profound events that shaped the history of the Weimar duchy.
Democracy thrives on public communication, the sharing of viewpoints and knowledge, and institutions that promote openness and safeguard forums of free thought. For the Theme Year 2026, the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek presents its own unique path to openness – from the Wilhelmsburg to the library campus – an institution dedicated to preserving the past in public and in digital form. From 30 April to 30 October, the exhibition in the Book Cube of the Study Centre will be shown alongside a multifaceted event programme and colloquium commemorating Anna Amalia’s birthday on 24 October.
The poet’s famous residence on Frauenplan in Weimar will remain open until Sunday, 1 November 2026, after which the UNESCO World Heritage Site will close for about three years. During this time, the building will be renovated in accordance with landmark preservation guidelines and augmented with a modern educational concept. The goal is to make Goethe’s long-lasting impact and many achievements more clearly visible and vibrantly understandable. The Goethe National Museum and its visitor centre will remain open throughout the renovation period.
As the most frequented site of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the Goethe Residence will offer entirely new, attractive reasons for a visit. In the foyer, a “digital Goethe Residence” will present visitors with an immersive virtual reality programme and digital-analogue educational activities. Interactive applications, such as the Goethe Apparatus, virtual tours, exhibitions and 3D models offer visitors a new way to vividly experience Weimar’s cultural heritage. And with the launch of the Faust and Goethe Era portals in the upcoming Theme Year on 22 January and 28 August 2026, respectively, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar will facilitate global access to its one-of-a-kind Goethe collections and Goethe Era sites.
In 2001, UNESCO officially added Goethe’s estate of manuscripts to its Memory of the World Register. On 19 March 2026 we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the announcement with a ceremony at the Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv. In its annual exhibition specially developed for this occasion, the archivists present how Goethe’s manuscripts are typically integrated into the public archive. Goethe fans from around the world are invited to participate in the photo competition “Where is YOUR Goethe?”
To mark the 30th anniversary of the induction of Weimar’s Bauhaus Sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List, the museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar will spotlight the themes of heritage and monument preservation. Together with the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, the Bauhaus experts will hold a symposium on 7 June 2026. On 19 March 2026 the Bauhaus Museum will present for the very first time historic photographs of the UNESCO Bauhaus Sites and postcards from the Dicke Collection. Starting on 20 August 2026 the Graphic Collections will open their storerooms and present some of their recently acquired treasures – early woodcuts by the Bauhaus master Gerhard Marcks.
These are just a few of the many exciting events and programmes awaiting you in the Theme Year 2026 “OPEN”. For the latest news and updates, please visit the website of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar.
Experience Goethe - digitally and interactively
Projects of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Thuringia, represented by the State Chancellery of Thuringia, Department of Culture and the Arts.