Goethe City Bad Lauchstädt

The Goethe City Bad Lauchstädt is a small town in the south of Saxony-Anhalt and preserves the health establishment and the Goethe Theater in its attractive town center. The glorious Lauchstadt theater history would never have been written had it not been for the spa and the mineral spring. The latter was built in 1710 by order of the Dukes of Saxony-Merseburg. The up-and-coming luxury and fashion spa, also known as the "Saxon Pyrmont", flourished from 1775, when the Dresden court moved its summer residence to Lauchstädt. J. W. Chryselius, the Merseburg monastery architect, was commissioned to build a modern spa resort, which was constructed between 1776 and 1787. Dresden's late baroque style is the unmistakable inspiration for these buildings and brings a previously unseen splendor to this small spa resort. Bad Lauchstädt has been a spa resort for almost 250 years. The local nobility and the bourgeoisie, who had become wealthy through industriousness, meet with the intellectual greats of that time. Among these notable guests are the famous poets Gottsched, Gellert and Gleim, the Stein family as well as Charlotte von Lengefeld and Christiane Vulpius, the wife of Goethe. In 1791, with the debut of the Weimar Court Theater, Bad Lauchstädt entered the era as a nationally recognized performance venue for theater, opera and concerts On June 26, 1802, the theater building initiated by Goethe is opened after twelve weeks of construction with W. A. Mozart's opera "The Clemency of Titus". With its charm and appealing design, it has been attracting guests from national and international circles to the former health resort for more than two hundred years. Friedrich Schiller himself became convinced of this unique venue in 1803 when he attended a performance of "The Bride of Messina" and a thunderstorm inevitably gave the audience a real shiver. A few years earlier, in 1789, the poet stayed in Lauchstädt for a short time and was in close contact with the sisters of Lengefeld. This acquaintance lead to the engagement of the younger sister Charlotte to Friedrich Schiller by mail. With the transfer to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the spa lost the recognition it had gained throughout Europe and also the splendor of its golden age. In 1834 the Lauchstädter Theater, which was used by the Magdeburg City Theater, experienced another highlight in its history: Richard Wagner made a guest appearance in the village as a conductor at the age of 21 and met the actress Minna Planer, whom he married two years later. The only first performance to date in the Goethe Theater took place in 1912: Gerhart Hauptmann's drama "Gabriel Schilling's Escape" with Tilla Durieux in one of the leading roles caused a sensation. Although regular spa operations have been discontinued since 1941, today's Goethe City Bad Lauchstädt and the historic spa facilities are still geared to welcoming guests and presenting an unforgettable theater experience. The historic buildings have served public, museum and cultural purposes since their restoration between 1965 and 1968. Extensive preservation measures make the old glamour of the luxury and fashion bath very present. In 1994, after taking over the properties, the state of Saxony-Anhalt founded a limited liability company (GmbH) to manage the former spa facilities and the theater built by Goethe. From April to October, the leading city, state and national theaters present a selected repertoire in nearly 50 performances per year. Every year, more than 20,000 visitors travel to the only Goethe city in Germany to experience the pleasure of a performance in a historical setting. The wooden baroque stage machinery works and fascinates people even today. The annual "Festival of the German Language" also brings international color to the spa facility The festival, initiated by a chamber singer, Mrs. Professor Edda Moser, has been held in the Goethe Theater in Bad Lauchstädt since 2007. Since then it has been a highly regarded series of events for the valuable preservation and extensive cultivation of the German language.

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  City Administration Goethe City Bad Lauchstädt:
 www.goethestadt-bad-lauchstaedt.de
Historical spa facilities and Goethe-Theater Bad Lauchstädt GmbH:
www.goethe-theater.com 

Guided tours (historical spa facilities, Goethe Theater, New Schiller House and, if applicable, special exhibitions)

May to September | Tuesday to Sunday and on holidays: 10.30 AM, 03.00 PM (and by appointment)

October to April | Monday to Sunday by appointment

On all event days of the Goethe Theater only the guided tour at 10.30 AM will be held and after the event there is a theater tour (free of charge for event participants)

Minimum number of participants per tour: 5 persons or 20,00 €

Price (all-season): 5,00 € per person | reduced 4,00 €

Meeting place: Visitor center in Kurpark (Quellpavillon)

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Historical spa facilities and Goethe-Theater Bad Lauchstädt GmbH

Parkstraße 18

06246 Goethestadt Bad Lauchstädt

Tel. +49 (0)34635 | 782 - 28

Fax 034635 | 782 – 22

besucher@goethe-theater.com

www.goethe-theater.com