Frankfurt: Goethe's House

Goethe was born here in 1749 in Frankfurt

I don't know much about Johann Wolfgang Goethe, I didn't study German nor am I familiar with his works. But I have visited the house he was born in 1749, in Frankfurt.

A portrait of the young Goethe

It's located near the subway station Willy Brandt Platz station and a few minutes' walk away -- near a Lululemon store! is the house.

It was sadly razed to the ground during the air raids in World War II -- but not before the items in the house were safely stored elsewhere. The house had to be rebuilt after the war and was painstakingly restored the best they could.

The furniture in the house isn't the original ones from the house as they had sold it in the late 1770s, but they are from the same period. A guide in the museum pointed out that the beautiful grandfather clock on the first floor was owned by Goethe's father's friend. And for the record, it has today's date -- May 8, 2019! Every 15 minutes it has a lively chime.

The Goethe family was pretty well off and this is already evident in the kitchen that had two maids and a cook. The kitchen even had a pump to a well -- they did not have to get water from a public well.

A lavish dining room in the house

Each room was tastefully decorated with wallpaper and beautiful furniture and chandeliers to match. There was a supposed "birth room" where Goethe was apparently born in, a dark green room, and there's even a puppet room with a small wooden stage for puppets to have a show.

There are a few keyboards, including an upright clavichord, and a room full of paintings that Goethe collected. These furnishing details give a great insight into what life was like in Frankfurt (for the wealthy) in the 18th century.

It was Goethe's grandmother, Cornelia Goethe who acquired the house in 1733 and Goethe was born there 16 years later. In 1755 Goethe's father Johann Caspar Goethe renovates the home into a prestigious residence, but Goethe leaves for Weimar 20 years later.

The grandfather clock that has 2019 on it!

It is quite evident that Goethe lived a comfortable life here and by the age of 25 became a literary celebrity following the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther in 1774. He was quite accomplished -- not only did Goethe write novels and poems, but also literary criticism, studied law and was an accomplished artist whose drawings, some 2,600 of them still exist.

Goethehaus
Großer Hirschgraben 23-25
60311 Frankfurt am Main