Cultural institute established by the German government in 1951 to promote the teaching of the German language and organise cultural collaborations across the world. Named after the writer and scholar Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749–1832), it was first established in Germany after World War II as a replacement for the Deutsche Akademie. Its first international centre opened in Athens, Greece, in 1952; at the time of writing, it has centres in 98 countries around the world. The centres in India are also called Max Mueller Bhavans, after the German philologist and Orientalist.