1771 (or 1770 ?): Goethe, 21-22 years old, unknown author, meets Herder (26 years, already a little bit famous) in Strassburg. Herder came from Riga (far away), Goethe from Frankfurt. Herder had been short before in Darmstadt, and there was a girl.
Herder had a bad eye. Herder (who already had met a lot of other persons of the big scene of literature) and Goethe had a lot of opportunity to talk, cause Herder had this bad eye. The talking is considered as the begin of "Sturm und Drang". After it Herder got a position in Bückeburg, but remembered the girl of Darmstadt. Goethe wrote his own story.
1773: Herder has gotten a position at Bückeburg, inside a small state and territory called Schaumburg-Lippe. He writes an essay, which gets much attention, about Ossian, Finn McCool and Oscar in the Celtic mythology, which recently had become known by James MacPherson (1761).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fionn_mac_Cumhaill
Herder takes the position, that one has enough of all this Roman and Greek mythology, and that one should finally also care for the Northern myths. This position later develops to a big trend and movement, in which the brothers Grimm (just as example) gathered their fairy tales, which became so famous in Hollywood, and to Wagner and his Nibelungen and to the Faust of Goethe.
1775: Goethe has written "Werther's Leiden", which immediately became a very big success, even well known outside of Germany. He get's a well honored position in Weimar, and he calls for Herder, who also shall come to Weimar. And Herder comes. and many others come. So there was a literary cycle in Weimar, which became famous,
and so it happened, that Liebeskind (author of the early Zauberflöte) became home teacher for the children of the Herder family, who, born after the marriage of Herder and his girl Caroline Flachsland 1473, were in the right age to be amused through fairy tales.
Liebeskind published together with Wieland, his later father-in-law ... and Wieland was already in Weimar (since 1772), before Goethe and Herder came, and he got already the commission to educate the young duke in Weimar.
Wieland, 16 years older than Goethe and active writer already since 1750, had published a translation of Shakespeare works, at which he worked 4 long years (1762-1766), and the number of the used plays in this work was 22.
As far I know, Shakespeares works didn't get so much interest in England, and Shakespeare's later fame developed more through the acceptance in Germany than in England. .... :-) ... but, maybe, that this is only a German opinion. There is or there was the idea, that the ideas of Shakespeare fit better with the German spirit than with the English. But, as already said, this might be a German imagination ... :-)
Here's a list of Shakespeare translations to German ...
1604 Anon. (Wandertruppe): Von Romeo undth Julitha, aufgef. Nördlingen 1604 (Creizenach, S. XLI)
1611 Anon. (Wandertruppe): Teutsche Komedia der Jud von Venedig, auss dem engelländischen (Creizenach, S.XL) (Merchant of Venice)
1620 Frederick Menius: Englische Comoedien 2. Theil , "Eine sehr klägliche Tragoedia von Tito Andronico, und der hoffertigen Käyserin, darinnen denckwürdige actiones zu befinden" (Titus Andronicus)
1624 2nd edition of Frederick Menius' Englische Comoedien
1626 Anon. (Wandertruppe): Tragoedia von Romeo und Juliette, (aufgeführt in Dresden, 2. Juni, 29. Sept.) (Cr. XLI)
Anon. (Wandertruppe): Tragoedia von Julio Cesare (aufgeführt in Dresden, 8. Juni 1626)
Anon. (Wandertruppe): Tragoedia von Lear, König in Engelandt (aufgeführt in Dresden, 26. Sept.)
1627 Anon. (Wandertruppe): Tragikomödie von Julio Caesare (aufgeführt in Torgau 1627)
1631 Anon. (Wandertruppe): Julius Caesar (Dresden, 1631)
1646 Anon. (Wandertruppe): Tragoedie von Romeo und Julia (aufgeführt in Dresden, 15. Okt. 1646)
1651 Anon. (Wandertruppe): vom julio Caesare, dem ersten erwählten römischen Kaiser (aufgeführt in Prag)
1656 Johann Reinhard Laidig (?): Aran und Titus, Oder Tragödia von Raach und Gegen-Raach (Titus Andronicus)
1658 Andreas Gryphius: Absurda Comedia oder Herr Peter Squenz
1660 Anon. (Wandertruppe): die Tragoedia von Cajo julio Caesare (aufgeführt in Güstrow)
Anon. (Wandertruppe): vom Römischen Kayser Julio Caeesare, wie er auf dem Rathhause zu Rom erstochen wirt (aufgeführt in Lüneburg)
1661 Anon. (Wandertruppe): Tragicomoedia vom Mohren zu Venedig (aufgeführt in Dresden, 1661)
Hieronymus Thomae, zweite. deutsche Bearbeitung von Vos' Titus Andronicus (vgl. Laidig, 1656)
1665 Salomon Adler, Schuhmacher in Augsburg, hat u. a. "Comedie vom König Lier auss Engellandt" im Repertoire.
1666 Anon. (Wandertruppe): von dem Könnich Liar auss Engelandt, ist eine materien worin die ungehorsamkeit der Kinder gegen Ihre Elder wirt gestraffet, die Gehorsamkeit aber belohnet (aufgeführt in Lueneburg)
Drey, Puppenspieler Drama Nr. 6: Von Tito Andronicuo, welches eine schöne Romanische Begebenheit, mit schöner Aussbildung
1676 Anon. (Wandertruppe): König Lear aus Engellandt " (Dresden, 22. Juli 1676)
1677 Anon.: Tugend- und Liebesstreit (Twelfth Night)
1693 Christian Weise (1642-1708), Kömödie von der bösen Catherina (Taming of the Shrew)
1699 Tragoedia genannt Raache gegen Raache. Oder der streitbare Römer Titus Andronicus... (aufgeführt in Linz, vgl. Creiz. S. 23)
1710 Pretz, Tragoedia: Der bestrafte Brudermord oder: Prinz Hamlet aus Dännemark
1741Caspar Wilhelm von Borck. (Anon.): Versuch einer gebundenen Übersetzung des Trauer-Spiels von dem Tode des Julius Caesar
1758 Simon Grynaeus (Anon.): Romeo und Juliet in Neue Probstücke der englischen Schaubühne.
1766 Christoph Martin Wieland (1762 - 66): 22 Dramen
http://pages.unibas.ch/shine/translatorsgerman.htm
There is much of 17th century and not much of 18th century. And nearly everything, which had happened before, had the character of "one-play-translation, not more.
it followed works, which were based on Wieland's earlier works, but which are then called "complete editions:
1777 Johann Joachim Eschenburg (1775 - 77; 1782) erste vollständige deutsche Ausgabe (mit Wielands Übersetzungen)
1780 Gabriel Eckert (1778 - 80), Gesamtausgabe, Eschenburg revidiert
Somewhere I saw the number 36 and nowadays the number 38 for the complete Shakespeare plays. Wieland had 22. Possibly cause of Tarock influence, the game had then very new, but very high popularity.