Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust.
Dr. Fausto by Jean-Paul Laurens
1876 'Faust' by Goethe, decorated by Rudolf Seitz, large German edition 51x38cm
Pan Twardowski and the devil by Michał Elwiro Andriolli. The Polish folklore legend bears many similarities to the story of Faust.
Marlowe Faustus in the Huntington Library, San Marino, California
German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all German-speaking countries, this wider definition including folklore of Austria and Liechtenstein as well as the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Italy.
Illustration of Hansel and Gretel, a well-known German folktale from the Brothers Grimm, by Arthur Rackham, 1909