Bauhaus in Dessau

Though you may not be aware of it, the influences of the short lived arts and design school born in Weimar are all around us. A merging of craft and art in 1919 became the first Bauhaus school and the beginning of a short but strange saga that has spread across the globe and left its mark in every major modern city. Largely credited with transforming modernism from a concept to a reality and bringing artistic experimentation to the masses in a very real way–through pottery and architecture–Bauhaus creations still reach out to us every day from each street corner and in many shop windows.

It was not until the school moved from Weimar to Dessau that the seeds of this influence would be sown. In Dessau the director of the school, while able to turn a profit and bring attention to Bauhaus architecture–as well as securing their first good contracts–eventually became regarded as a scoundrel for forcing the resignation of several popular aesthetic professors. It is in Dessau, however, that the influence of Bauhaus architecture and art, as well as a pride therein, can most strongly be felt.

Dessau, as a city, is itself a work of art. From the gothic town hall to the surreal market square, Dessau is indisputably a city dedicated to its aesthetic sensibilities. The sharp lines and harsh modernism of the Bauhaus contrast with the classic forms of the Georgian castle and other various gothic churches. Then there are the nearly indescribable buildings like the Umweltbundesamt, a multilayered and multicolored glass and wood affair that has to be seen to be believed.

Dessau is a city with a surprise around every corner.