The Freies Deutsches Hochstift is one of the oldest cultural institutes in Germany and a non-profit research institution. It is the sponsor of the Goethe-Haus in Frankfurt, the Deutsches Romantik-Museum, the operator of the Brentano-Haus (here jointly with the city of Oestrich-Winkel) and has art collections, a manuscript collection and a research library. The focus of the research work is currently on three historical-critical editions on Clemens Brentano, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Johann Wolfgang Goethe's 'Faust'.
The Freies Deutsches Hochstift is funded in equal parts by the Federal Republic of Germany, the State of Hesse and the City of Frankfurt am Main.