National Research and Memorial Places of Classical German Literature in Weimar [antikvár]

The most magnificent testimonies of German poetry, the legacy of Goethe and Schiller, Herder, Wieland and many other poets will be found in the south-west of the GDR, in Weimar. Most of them belong to the classical epoch of German poetry, in which a national literature and a national theatre was established in Germany. It was the epoch, in which German literature was prominent in Europe for some decades, and in which Goethe came to the idea of a world literature and realized it. Therefore Weimar is said to be the "town of German classicism", and on account of that Weimar - as a natural centre of research and cultivation of the classical German literature - was chosen as the seat of the National Research and Memorial Places of Classical German Literature (NRM). The memorial places, museums and archives existing for more than eight decades were united in 1953 with the newly established Institute of Literatury Research and with the Central Library of German Classicism. They all try - each in their own way - to solve the general problem: the creation of a true historical picture of German classicism as well as the integration of the humanistic, progressive legacy of the poets as a life-shaping force in building iup the socialistic order. The National Research and Memorial Places of Classical German Literature in Weimar are a complex and multiform place of research and education of German literature, art and culture of the epoch from 1750 to 1850. The chief stress of their researches lies on history and results of literature and art of the epoch, on publications of sources, especially on scientific editions, on documtation and comparing studies. National and international colloquies about problems of the classical German literature support the researches, and publications spread their results. ("Contributions to German classicism", "Goethe's collections concerning literature, art and natural science", "catalogues, istock-books, bibliographies" and the "Library of German classics"). The annual presents as well as the almanach published under the title "forschen und bilden" ("research and educate") inform about the work of the institute. The "Thursday-Colloquies" give a survey of new results of the researches, or they present well-known facts in a popular form. The educational work encloses the attending of visitors (1903-1912: eigthy thousand, 1926-1935: four hundred thousand, 1954-1963: four million six hundred thousand), introductory lectures, guide-lectures, seminaries and consultations, the edition of instructive and explaining booklets, series of lectures, concerts and theatrical performan-