Weimar and the Home of Schiller

Here is the home where Schiller lived at the end of his short life. Again, you can read/hear the entire interesting tour free of charge, room by room with photos on this website.

This is from the introduction to the tour:

The spacious residence on Esplanade was originally built for a merchant in 1777. Schiller moved in with his family in 1802 and had some alterations done. Following the poet’s premature death in 1805, his wife Charlotte continued living here until she died in 1826. During those years, she had let out several rooms to tenants. Eventually her children sold the property and some of the furniture. In 1847 the city of Weimar purchased the building and converted it to the first poet memorial in Germany that same year. The rooms have been restored and refurbished several times since. A new museum was built in 1988 adjacent to the Schiller Residence which now serves as the entrance to the historical residence and venue for temporary exhibitions.

From the audio tour:

Study

You are now in Schiller’s inner sanctum – his study. This is where he came when he wanted to read, think and write. When he was gripped by an idea, he would stay here day and night, working feverishly. The study, with its furniture, prints and everyday objects, is largely as it was during Schiller’s lifetime – so this is where we come closest to the great writer. Schiller sat at this desk and dipped his pen in this glass ink bottle. The marble letter weight, the table clock and the snuff box were all personal possessions – and this is also where he wrote his last plays The Bride of Messina and William Tell.

Schiller chose the wallpaper himself. The wallpaper you can see here is an exact copy of the original. He made some practical changes to the room as well, having a window in the gable wall put in to give him more light at his desk. For his collection of books, he also had special built-in bookshelves made to fit the pitch of the roof. For conservation reasons, the books on show today are a selection of second editions; Schiller’s original books are in the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. Although often ill, Schiller planned ahead, setting himself ambitious goals. He got through an amazing amount of work, planning to write one play a year. The publishers paid him well, and his plays were performed across Germany. As Schiller wrote to his brother-in-law Wilhelm von Wolzogen in 1804:

“My work is my biggest joy, it makes me happy in myself and outwardly independent, and if I can only live to reach fifty with my mental powers undiminished […].“

But it wasn’t to be. Scholars believe the last lines Schiller ever wrote are those on the paper on the desk. They come from his unfinished play Demetrius. On the evening of May the ninth 1805, Friedrich Schiller died here in this bed from pneumonia. He was only 45 years old.