26.
Goethe goes to Weimar: *
In 1775 following publication of Young Werther he took up residence in Weimar invited there by Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach; in 1782 he was ennobled by the said Duke. He would spend the rest of his life in Weimar (aside from 1786-88). It was here that he wrote his masterpiece Faust along with his other works. He was active in Weimar’s local political scene, a member of the Duke's Privy Council (1775-85), sat on the war and highway commissions, oversaw the reopening of silver mines in nearby Ilmenau, and implemented a series of administrative reforms at the University of Jena. He contributed to the planning of Weimar's botanical park and the rebuilding of its Ducal Palace.
In 1791, he was made managing director of the theatre at Weimar. In 1794 he began a friendship with the dramatist, historian & philosopher Friedrich Schiller, whose plays he premiered. He was heavily involved in the cultural & literary movement known as Weimar Classicism (1772- 1805), part of the German Enlightenment. It sought a new humanism by synthesizing Romantic, Classical & Enlightenment ideas; along with Goethe it included Herder, Fichte & Schiller. It legitimized the promotion of German language & culture & helped shape the development of German nationalism.
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In 1832 Goethe died in Weimar of apparent heart failure. He is buried in the Ducal Vault in Weimar's Historical Cemetery.