Whispers of the past echo through the Webicht. This Weimar woodland isn’t just trees and leaves. It holds secrets. Dark secrets. It’s a place of both beauty and tragedy. The Webicht. A name that means swamp. A fitting name for a place that once swallowed lives.
The Webicht. A vast expanse of deciduous trees. Ash maple and elm trees dominate this landscape. Plants like the spotted arum and the hollow larkspur thrive here. The Webicht was once a favored hunting ground. Baroque princes held lavish hunts here. Franz Ludwig Güssfeld even mapped it in 1778. His map is a treasure for historians. It reveals the Webicht as it once was.
But the Webicht isn’t just a picturesque hunting ground. The Weimar School of Painting found inspiration here. Karl Buchholz captured its essence in his 1875 painting. Lovis Corinth praised Buchholz as a genius. Christian Rohlfs also found inspiration within this forest’s depths.
The Webicht has witnessed both glory and shame. A grand pheasant farm stood in its heart. It stood until its demolition in 2011. It connected to Classical Weimar through its proximity to Tiefurt Castle and Kromsdorf. For a time the Webicht was also home to a bustling airport. The Weimar-Lindenberg airfield. This is the same airport also known as the Ninety Acres airfield or the Webicht airfield. Between 1911 and 1936 it thrived. The first German airline linked it to Berlin.
This serene landscape also holds a tragic history. It is eternally bound to the atrocities of the Third Reich. In the final days of the war the Gestapo murdered 149 prisoners here. The killings happened near the current location of the memorial stone. This memorial stands as a testament to the victims. Their remains now rest in Weimar’s main cemetery. The memorial stone was originally placed within the Webicht. It was later moved to the Tiefurter Allee for better visibility. It’s now sadly overgrown and difficult to find.
The Webicht. More than a forest. It’s a living history book. A place where nature’s beauty contrasts sharply with man’s inhumanity. The Ilm Viaduct stands proudly near the Webicht. It’s a technical monument and a cultural landmark. It’s a testament to human ingenuity. A striking contrast to the darker history that unfolded beneath these trees. The Webicht is part of Weimar’s cultural heritage. A place that demands respect. A place that deserves remembrance. The Webicht. A story whispered on the wind. A story etched in the very earth beneath your feet.