„My soul seeks you in Kochberg and often hurries over to you“ - Johann Wolfgang Goethe wrote to Charlotte von Stein back in 1785. The moated castle was built around 1600 in the Renaissance style. In 1733, Kochberg became the property of the Barons of Stein, who used it as a country residence and had several renovations carried out. Charlotte von Stein and her eldest son Carl turned Kochberg Castle into an artistic and social center in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The museum in the castle commemorates Goethe's visits to his closest friend and confidante during his early years in Weimar. „Here I sit on your canapee“ - under this title, the two new listening stations in the museum's ballroom invite visitors to listen to Goethe's love letters to Charlotte von Stein. Relax on the swings, which are designed as rococo-style sofas. The actor Jürg Wisbach reads a selection from the more than 1,700 letters and notes that Goethe wrote to his great love in the first decade of Weimar.

This allows us to experience the happiness, the tensions and also the everyday life of this still mysterious love affair between the poet and Charlotte von Stein, who was seven years older and married to the Saxon-Weimar head equerry Josias von Stein.

Two classical events complete the program at Kochberg Castle: the „Kochberg Garden Pleasure“ in May and the „Kochberg St. Nicholas Market“ in December. The private theater built around 1800 by Carl von Stein, the ‚Liebhabertheater‘ with its 75 seats, is a unique gem in the world. Every summer from May to October, top-class opera and theater performances, concerts and readings take place on its stage in a historic setting, attracting visitors from all over the world.