Explore the real-world places that appear in Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Auerbachs Keller, Faust House (Faust-Haus), Staufen, Goethe House, Goethe's Garden House, Goethe's House on the Frauenplan and 6 more.
Mädlerpassage, Grimmaische Straße 2-4, Leipzig — The tavern scene
In Part One, Mephistopheles leads Faust to a Leipzig tavern where Frosch, Brander, Siebel and Altmayer are drinking. Mephistopheles sings the Song of the Flea and bores holes in the table, from which he draws wine for each drinker. When the wine turns to flame, the students threaten him, and he bewitches them before escaping with Faust, who is unimpressed by this vulgar revelry.
Auerbachs Keller dates to 1525 and was a popular haunt of Leipzig students. Goethe studied in Leipzig from 1765 to 1768 and frequented it. Legend also linked the cellar to a Faust who rode a wine barrel out of it.
The restaurant still operates in the Mädlerpassage and is one of the best-known historic restaurants in Germany. Bronze Faust and Mephistopheles figures stand at the entrance, and the vaulted rooms have Faust-themed paintings and carvings.
Visit: Auerbachs Keller (restaurant)
Hauptstraße 47, Staufen im Breisgau — Legendary death place of the historical Faust
Goethe's Faust is a scholar who despairs over his alchemical and scientific studies and makes a pact with Mephistopheles. The play's narrative draws on the legend of the historical Doctor Faustus, who supposedly died after experiments with the devil. This chronicle tradition underlies the study scenes, the bargain, and Faust's final damnation-or-salvation debate.
Local tradition says Johann Georg Faust died in an alchemical explosion in 1539 at the Lion Inn (Gasthaus zum Löwen) in Staufen. The Faust legend was spread through the 1587 Historia von D. Johann Fausten chapbook.
The Gasthaus zum Löwen still stands in Staufen's market area and carries a Faust-themed identity. The town celebrates the connection with a Faust room, signage and tourism references.
Visit: Gasthaus zum Löwen (Faust House) (landmark)
Großer Hirschgraben 23, Frankfurt — Where Goethe wrote the Urfaust
Goethe began writing the early Faust material in the 1770s, including the Gretchen tragedy. In the Gretchen story, Faust seduces the young Margarete, who is imprisoned for infanticide. The early version known as the Urfaust grew from Goethe's youth in Frankfurt and his interest in contemporary legal cases.
Goethe was born in this house in 1749 and lived here until 1775. It was heavily damaged in World War II and rebuilt after the war using original furnishings that had been stored for safety.
The house is now the Goethe House and Goethe Museum with period rooms and the writing room. It is a major literary destination in Frankfurt.
Visit: Goethe House and Goethe Museum (museum)
Park an der Ilm, Weimar — Where Goethe worked on Faust
In Weimar, Goethe worked on the Faust fragments and later on the major completion of Part One. The scenes of Faust's study, the Prologue in Heaven, and the Gretchen story were refined during his years at the Weimar court.
Duke Carl August gave Goethe the garden house in 1776. Goethe lived there until 1782 and returned to it often afterward.
The garden house is a museum within the Ilm Park, part of the UNESCO World Heritage ensemble Classical Weimar.
Visit: Goethe's Garden House (museum)
Frauenplan 1, Weimar — Where Faust Part Two was completed
Goethe completed Faust Part Two here in 1831. Part Two follows Faust through the imperial court, the classical Walpurgis Night, his marriage to Helen of Troy, and his final land-reclamation project. It ends with Faust's death and angels carrying his soul upward.
Goethe lived in this Baroque house from 1782 until his death in 1832. He arranged its collections of art, minerals and books himself.
The house and the adjoining national museum are open to visitors. Goethe's study and library are preserved much as he left them.
Visit: Goethe National Museum (museum)
Harz Mountains, Saxony-Anhalt — Site of Walpurgis Night
In the Walpurgis Night scene, Mephistopheles takes Faust to the Brocken, where witches gather. Faust and Mephistopheles go through the crowd, flirt with witches, and watch the revelry. Faust sees a pale vision resembling Gretchen, which draws him back to the consequences of his actions.
The Brocken is the highest peak of the Harz and has been associated with witch folklore for centuries. Walpurgis Night on April 30 was tied to these legends. Goethe climbed the mountain in 1777, 1783 and 1784.
The summit is part of Harz National Park and is reached on foot or by the Brocken Railway. A visitor center and weather station stand at the top, and Walpurgis festivities are held in the region.
Visit: Brocken Summit, Harz National Park (park)
Augustusplatz, Leipzig — Goethe's student city and academic satire
Faust opens with the scholar's despair at the limits of academic knowledge. In the student scene, Mephistopheles dresses as Faust and gives satirical advice to a naive freshman. He mocks theology, law and medicine, and tells the student to follow the scripture of experience instead.
Leipzig University was founded in 1409 and is among the oldest universities in Germany. Goethe enrolled to study law in 1765. The university shaped his early ideas about education and scholarship.
The university campus is centered near Augustusplatz. The university's historic buildings and nearby sites are accessible as part of Leipzig's central city.
Eisenach, Thuringia — Luther's refuge and Goethe's visits
Faust opens in the late-medieval and early-modern German world of scholars, devils and religious anxiety. The Wartburg, where Luther translated the New Testament, evokes that setting. In the study scene Faust turns to translating the Gospel of John, writing 'In the beginning was the Deed.'
The Wartburg dates to the eleventh century and is where Martin Luther hid in 1521 and 1522. Goethe visited several times and helped with the castle's later preservation. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The castle is a museum with the Luther Room, the Great Hall and art collections. It is one of the most visited historic sites in Thuringia.
Visit: Wartburg Castle (historic site)
Place de la Cathédrale, Strasbourg — Goethe's inspiration
Goethe studied in Strasbourg in 1770 and 1771, where he met Herder and wrote some of his earliest Sturm und Drang work. The cathedral's Gothic form influenced the world of Faust's Gothic study and the Cathedral scene, in which Gretchen is tormented by the Evil Spirit during a requiem mass.
Strasbourg Cathedral was built between 1015 and 1439. Goethe praised it in his essay 'On German Architecture' in 1772. It was the tallest building in the world for over two centuries.
The cathedral is a major tourist attraction and houses an astronomical clock. Visitors can climb the tower platform.
Visit: Strasbourg Cathedral (landmark)
Kirchplatz 2, Knittlingen — Birthplace claim of Johann Georg Faust
The Faust legend which Goethe adapted was tied to the real Doctor Faust of the early sixteenth century. Goethe turned the tale of the damned conjurer into a drama of striving, error and redemption. Knittlingen's museum presents the tradition from which Goethe drew.
Knittlingen claims to be the birthplace of Johann Georg Faust, who was probably born around 1480. The town established the Faust Archive and Museum to document the legend and its adaptations.
The Faust Museum and Faust Archive hold displays on the historical Faust, the chapbooks, Marlowe, Goethe and later artistic works. It is open to the public.
Visit: Faust Museum Knittlingen (museum)
Klosterhof 5, Maulbronn — Another Faust legend site
Faust's pact with Mephistopheles has roots in legends about the real Faust's alchemical experiments. Local tradition connected the historical Faust with Maulbronn, where he allegedly worked in the Faust Tower on gold-making. Goethe transformed the legend into the Study scenes and the wager.
Maulbronn Monastery was founded in 1147 by Cistercian monks and is among the best preserved medieval monasteries in Europe. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tradition holds that the historical Faust worked there with Abbot Johannes Entenfuß.
The monastery complex is open to visitors with cloisters, church and Faust-related displays. It also hosts a school and concerts.
Visit: Maulbronn Monastery (historic site)
More by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: All Johann Wolfgang von Goethe books
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