The famed Goethe had planned to visit Prague for several years. For him, it was not only a place of literary inspiration but also the capital of the country where his last love, the beautiful and educated philanthropist Ulrika von Levetzow, resided. He was a 72-year-old gentleman when he proposed to the then 19-year-old Ulrika. Following her bitter rejection, however, he cancelled his last planned trip to Bohemia and never actually visited Prague. Were he lucky enough to do so today, he certainly wouldn’t skip the Faust House or the amazing collection of minerals in the original display cases of the National Museum. Its foundations were laid by Count Sternberk, Goethe’s frequent correspondent. Goethe’s first encounter with Prague was purely literary, through the legends of the ambitious alchemist Johann Georg Faust, who gave his soul to the devil. Goethe had Faust fly to Prague on a magical steed. The Faust House on Karlovo náměstí Square is linked with the alchemist’s turbulent life. Quite understandably, for this Baroque palace belonged to several alchemists, including Edward Kelley. A few eccentrics even collected tombstones and pieces of gallows here. To this day, the Faust House hides mysterious murals and a hole big enough for a grown man to fly through was discovered in the ceiling of the staircase. This is another reason it is associated with the Faustian legend. Goethe was very fond of Bohemia and visited it seventeen times. He met many Prague residents during his sojourns and liked to order books and wine from Prague. Perhaps the closest he ever came to visiting Prague in person was in 1813, when he was commissioned to write a play for the Estates Theatre in Prague, one of the oldest theatres in Europe. It has been in continuous operation since 1783, and hosted the premiere of Don Giovanni, Mozart’s ‘opera of operas’, on 29 October 1787. As a renowned geologist, Goethe corresponded frequently with Count Sternberg, the founder of the National Museum. The latter’s co-founder of the museum in Prague was the stepfather of Ulrika von Levetzow, whom Goethe fell in love with in Mariánské Lázně. But his love for Ulrika was unrequited and she rejected him. This was probably the reason he was reluctant to come to Prague. Ulrika’s set of jewels made of Bohemian garnets, unique in Europe, in now on display at the museum in Most. Although she inherited it from her mother, it was long said that Goethe himself gifted it to her as a token of his love. What this controversial writer did give Ulrika, however, was an Art Nouveau fan. We know from Goethe’s diary that he repeatedly planned a visit to Prague: he read guidebooks, studied maps, became familiar with Prague’s history and was able to converse its way of life. In spite of this, the great German poet never made it to Prague in person, but he left his mark on the city just the same. The poet’s name can be found in Prague on the Goethe-Institut near the charming embankment, or in Goetheho Street alongside Stromovka, one of Prague’s most beautiful parks, which is and always has been a haven of romantic love. Here, happy couples hold hands, new generations of young Werthers hide their sorrows in secluded corners, and old poets on benches dream their last Goethean dreams in the early evening sun.