On a stroll through the countryside near the Weimar Palace, Goethe saw a small cottage with a characteristic, steep roof and fell in love with the place. He had to have it, and acquired it at an auction although Duke Carl August actually paid for it. This would remain his main residence from 1776 until 1782 and he would return to it frequently, especially during summer, to work in peace. He delighted in the place as is clear from the poem quoted above. (The incomplete English translation does not do it justice.)

Strolling from the palace through the lovely English landscape Park an der Ilm, the Gartenhaus is visible surprisingly early and instantly recognizable. When seeing it through the trees, it is clear why Goethe took an instant liking to it. It is the most sketched place in Weimar and even on the freezing cold winter day of my visit an ardent fan was at work.

Entry to the small house is from the rear. The two stories house is sparsely furnished and once again, an interesting feature is the high desks. At one desk is a copy of the special chair that allowed Goethe to almost "sit" in a standing position while writing.

The park itself, often referred to as Goethe Park, is lovely to stroll in, but on this cold winter day I opted to gave further exploration a skip and returned to the comfort of a warm coffee shop in down town Weimar.

The Gartenhaus is open daily, April to October from 9 am to 6 pm, November to March from 9 am to 4 pm. Admission is € 3

The poet was referring to Weimar, but anyone visiting Goethe’s Gartenhaus knows he felt the same about his garden overlooking the Park an der Ilm. The house was his first, bought when he was young and had not yet made much money. He and his wife lived there until he could afford the more impressive home am Frauenplan 1, but they loved Gartenhaus so much (and gardening and minerals) that they never sold it. It became part of the romance of the poet's life and Weimar.

We turned right from the Hotel Elephant door and walked past the large restoration underway just past the Elephant. The sidewalk led us to the beautiful Park an der Ilm, where signs pointed the way to the steps and then the bridge to Goethe’s lovely garden. The walk wasn’t long, less than 10 minutes, but we should have allotted an hour for the park--it was large and lovely. Guides didn’t speak much English, and I was disappointed that we had paid 5 euro each to walk through the small house in 5 minutes without any narration to listen to. I thought, "If they had audio, they would have volunteered it," but I was wrong. My experience touring in Weimar the day before was that these sites didn’t have audio or didn’t have it in English. Ready to quit the house for the garden, I made earphone motions with my hands, and one guide responded by shaking his head "Yes." It was a 50-minute audio program that was wonderful! I listened to the details of Goethe’s career, his friends, gardening, family, how he handled his money. Touring in the eastern part of Germany was getting better! It was a good tour.

The house has two floors with gardening implements and sparse furnishings. The most interesting piece of furniture is a high desk (the height of a podium) where Goethe liked to write. In front of it is a high chair with a long narrow seat one can straddle. When he worked at his high desk standing up, he could straddle the seat to take the weight off his feet and so sit without bending his back--as I have been doing all day sitting at this computer. Goethe appreciated the value of this chair--as I would now--so much that he praised it in his writing until other people decided they would have to get one! He started a movement popularizing the chair, which is actually a kind of stool one might expect to see in the Bauhaus Museum. (Form follows function!)

The poet terraced the hillside, created attractive pebble walks, and planted ivy and flowers, everything from hostas to daffodils. Benches in secluded areas provide places to sit and enjoy the garden, as Goethe did.

Buses 1, 4, 6, and 8 run to the home from town. Like other attractions in Weimar, Gartenhaus is closed Tuesdays.