It is the world-famous landmark and symbol of the cultural city of Weimar: since 1857, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, created by Ernst Rietschel, have stood as a bronze double statue on Theaterplatz. Almost at eye level and yet without eye contact, the two poets are a reminder of classical German literature. Copies of the monument can be found in Cleveland, Milwaukee and San Francisco and even in Shanghai. The inscription: "To the poet couple Goethe and Schiller the Fatherland".