German Canon 450: The Most Important German-Language Works Ever Written

This massive undertaking was borne out of my frustration about the lack of a German language Canon in the vein of Harold Bloom or the Modern Library. Considering that the German-speaking people have long been at the forefront of artistic and intellectual developments, the lack of a civilization-defining Canon is insulting. The following list attempts to correct this injustice by gathering most (if not all) of the major works originally published IN GERMAN in one place. The works are listed in chronological order from the early Medieval period up to the present day (2026 as of the publishing of this list). Furthermore, the works are all-encompassing, representing achievements in literature (adult & children's), psychology, sociology, history, anthropology, philosophy and the "hard sciences". Enjoy and hopefully you'll learn as much as I did while curating this list!