Most of Goethe’s life took place in Central Europe. He often travelled back and forth between the two poles of Frankfurt and Weimar, where he was born and where he died. Political commitments took him as far west as Luxembourg and Lorraine and as far east as Poland. He used these opportunities to get to know the country and its people.

As a nature lover, Goethe travelled the mountain heights, from the Harz Mountains to the Thuringian Forest, the Ore Mountains and the Giant Mountains to the Alps, not only because of his interest in geology and mining. His special love, however, belonged to Italy, where he spent almost two years of his life.

Goethe never saw the cosmopolitan cities of his time: London, Paris, Vienna, and he only visited Berlin once. However, through his daily reading and an extensive network of correspondents, he always followed cultural life, scientific progress and political events in Europe with great interest.