Why did Johann Wolfgang von Goethe study law in Leipzig?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe studied law in Leipzig in 1765 primarily because his father, Johann Caspar Goethe, insisted upon it. His father held very specific expectations for his son’s education, intending for him to follow the same career path he had pursued as a young man.

This prescribed path involved studying law, gaining professional experience at the Reichskammergericht (the supreme court of the Holy Roman Empire) in Wetzlar, and eventually completing a grand tour of Italy to round out his cultural education. The ultimate goal was for Goethe to settle down and potentially secure a position of responsibility within the city administration of Frankfurt. Although Goethe followed his father’s instructions, he did so reluctantly and with significant delay, eventually returning home from Leipzig in 1768 without having completed his degree.1