Possendorf combines a village square settlement preserved to this day with a distinctive art history: the church served Lyonel Feininger several times as a subject for his paintings in the early 1920s. The Feininger Cycle Route also passes through the village. If you are planning a stay, you can focus on three clear themes: the village layout, Feininger’s church motif and cycling; community celebrations add a further, date-dependent highlight.
Village Square and Local History
Possendorf was first mentioned in a document in 1194 under the name “Busendorf.” Its rural character and original development as a village square settlement have been preserved to this day. Four lime trees stand on the village square, which also has a village pond. The square is also home to the only monument to German reunification in the Weimarer Land. These features give the village center a specific focus on local history. Visitors interested in the character of a place can use them to understand the village square settlement, the village square and the monument as distinct aspects of Possendorf.
Feininger’s Church Motif
The church adds an art-historical thread to this picture of the village: it served the Weimar Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger several times as a subject for his paintings in the early 1920s. For those interested in Feininger, this local connection creates a precise link between the village and art history. Together with the historic place name and the preserved village square layout, it shows that Possendorf’s history can be read both in its form as a settlement and in specific cultural connections.
Events and the Feininger Cycle Route
Local events bring a different sense of time to the picture. The Possendorf Traditions Association (Traditionsverein Possendorf e.V.), the local council, the parish, the Possendorf Singing Circle and others organize more than 15 community events and celebrations each year. The specific annual program may vary; if a particular celebration is a key part of your trip, check the date for your planned stay. The Feininger Cycle Route, which passes through Possendorf, offers a more permanent point of reference for planning. Cycling and attending a scheduled event are two different ways to include the village in your travel plans: the first follows the route, while the second depends on a specific date.
Weimar as a Broader Travel Destination
As a broader travel destination, Weimar offers a wider cultural setting. The 48-hectare Park on the Ilm is a unique landscape garden on the edge of Weimar’s old town and serves recreation, education and the aesthetic enjoyment of nature. The buildings and parks of Classical Weimar bear witness to the cultural flourishing of Weimar Classicism. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, enlightened ducal patronage drew leading German writers and thinkers such as Goethe, Schiller and Herder to Weimar.
Goethe’s Garden House was his first private residence in Weimar, which he acquired in 1776. He wrote “The Erlking” and “To the Moon” there. The garden contains the “Stone of Good Fortune,” erected in 1777 and designed by Goethe and his drawing teacher Adam Friedrich Oeser; it is considered one of Germany’s first non-figurative monuments.
The Bauhaus Museum Weimar presents one of the country’s most important Bauhaus collections and the oldest Bauhaus collection in the world; the Klassik Stiftung Weimar collection comprises 13,000 objects and documents. Notable exhibits include the Wagenfeld Lamp, Marcel Breuer’s slatted chair and Marianne Brandt’s teapot.
Discover more destinations: Niedertrebra, Magdala, GroĂźheringen, Schwerstedt, Kleinobringen, Mellingen, Apolda, Kleinschwabhausen
Go to the broader travel overview: Weimarer Land.
