The establishment of the Goethe National Museums in 1885 originated from a request in the will of the last of Goethe's grandchildren transferring ownership of his estate – Goethe's house and garden and the writer's collections – to the grand ducal family.

Many museums in one
Goethe's house takes pride of place in the museum ensemble put together by Carl Alexander. The whole group comprises 22 public museums perpetuating the memory of the great German author. The main component is Goethe's house and garden on Frauenplan which documents his literary and scientific achievements. Goethe lived here from 1792 until his death in 1832 with his wife Christiane Vulpius and his son August. The house remained in the possession of the family after Goethe's death until his grandson Walter opened it as the Goethe National Museum in 1885.

The library - a centre for research on the history of early 19th century European culture and literature - now has a collection of almost one million books. German literature between 1750 and 1850 forms the nucleus of the holdings, but it is augmented by a number of specialist collections. The reading areas of the study centre house about 100,000 volumes of more recent specialist literature (from 1970), predominantly on the arts and culture, including collected editions of the classics. All the books are catalogued systematically and are accessible to the public. Up to 700 current periodicals are also available on the shelves or in an archive of bound volumes.
» www.anna-amalia-bibliothek.de

A selection of other historical libraries in Germany.