It is the birthplace and childhood home of German poet and playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

It is also the place where Goethe wrote his famous works Götz von Berlichingen, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and the first drafts of Urfaust.

[2] It went through a series of owners before being purchased in 1733 by Cornelia Goethe, the grandmother of Johann Wolfgang, who had previously owned an inn on the nearby Zeil.

[8] As Goethe writes in his autobiography Dichtung und Wahrheit (Poetry and Truth), his father was careful to preserve the double overhang of the facade,[9] which was not permitted in new buildings under the codes of 1719 and 1749 due to fire risks; Johann Caspar was allowed to extend the overhanging facade as it was seen as a modification of an existing building, rather than a new-build.

[11] After returning from Strasbourg, Goethe would live at the family house in Frankfurt (bar a four month stay in Wetzlar in 1772) until leaving permanently for Weimar in November 1775.

[12] During this time in Frankfurt, Goethe wrote and published Götz von Berlichingen and The Sorrows of Young Werther, which established his fame across Europe.

In 1861, the house sold again, to Johann Georg Clauer, who split the first floor into two shops; this required significant changes, such as the installation of two new entrances and separating walls.

In 1863, the Goethe House was purchased by geologist Otto Volger, the founder and chairman of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Free German Foundation).

[16] The Hochstift restored the house to its state at the time of Johann Wolfgang Goethe's childhood, to serve as a memorial to the famed poet and playwright.

The house became a museum, decorated with period furniture and paintings, attempting to recreate authentically the environment in which Goethe spent his youth.

Designed by Franz von Hoven [de], it opened in 1897, and contained a library, as well as exhibition space for the Hochstift's collections.

[22] The Freies Deutsches Hochstift, on the other hand, wanted the house to be rebuilt exactly as it stood; this was the plan accepted by the Frankfurt municipality, and thus the reconstruction began in 1947.

The original facade came about as a result of Johann Caspar Goethe's renovations of 1755–56, in which he demolished one of the two adjoining properties and extended the other over the created space.

Above the door is a transom window decorated with an iron mesh, in which can be seen the initials of Johann Caspar Goethe (JCG).

In the centre of the roof protrudes a large dormer structure, supported by vertical wooden pillars, which rises three floors above the main house.

[35] The facade of the Goethe House is constructed of wood and underpinned with bricks, with wooden pillars, window frames and cornices.

[37] The ground floor contains a typical piece of furniture of the time, a "Brandschrank" cabinet to store important documents and valuables that could quickly be carried out, in case of fire.