The well-maintained Belvedere Castle is a grand chateau that together with several other notable buildings in the city, make up the UNESCO-listed Classical Weimar site. Explore the palace and admire the valuable collections of china, glass and artworks before strolling around the picturesque gardens.
The castle was originally built in the early 18th century to serve as a country retreat where Duke Ernst August of Weimar could come to hunt. Other dukes would later spend their summers here too.
Before entering the palace, take a moment to appreciate its elegant symmetrical exterior featuring a main building flanked by two identical pavilions. Painted in yellow with two domes and a larger central tower, the structure has a suitably elegant exterior.
Inside, the palace features a museum devoted to 18th-century arts and crafts. Browse exhibits displaying fine collections of tin-glazed pottery and glass that would have once been used by the ducal court. Also on show are paintings, period furnishings, exhibits on architecture and garden design, and an impressive collection of vintage weapons. These weapons would also have been part of the ducal collection and would have been used during hunting sessions in the surrounding countryside.
If the weather is nice, take a leisurely walk around the palace’s well-manicured gardens. Stroll past the flowing fountains and impeccably kept greenery and imagine what it would have been like to be an aristocrat based here back in Weimar’s cultural heyday in the late 18th and early 19th century.
Look for the garden’s labyrinth and seek out the orangery, where citrus fruit still grows. If your legs begin to tyre, find a bench and sit and rest. Some benches at the back of the castle offer views out over the town of Weimar.
The castle is open daily from March to October and an entrance fee applies. To get to Belvedere Castle, ride the bus from Weimar’s old town. Alternatively, cycle here from the town centre in about 20 minutes.
