Bauhaus Dessau Museum

Address: Gropiusallee 38, 06846 Dessau-Roßlau, Germany

Website: https://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/

Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00am-6:00pm, closed Mondays

Admission: Admission varies for guided tours and exhibitions (typically €8-€12); check site for current pricing

Bauhaus Dessau is the principal campus complex of the Bauhaus school in Dessau, Germany, and a key site in the development of modernist architecture and design. The complex was built in the 1920s to house workshops, classrooms and residences connected with the school.

The main Bauhaus Building is noted for its functional layout, workshop wings and a glass curtain wall that illuminates studio spaces; the nearby Masters’ Houses were built as modern faculty residences. Visitors typically explore the building’s exterior form, restored interiors, exhibitions on Bauhaus pedagogy and original workshop spaces.

Founded as the Bauhaus school relocated to Dessau in 1925, the campus was designed under the direction of Walter Gropius and became a model for integrated design education. The school was forced to close in the early 1930s amid political pressure, and the buildings were later repaired and conserved.

The site is located in the city of Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and today functions as a museum and research center documenting the Bauhaus movement.

• UNESCO status: Inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau” for its influence on 20th-century architecture and design.
• Visitor access: Public guided tours and a museum are based at the Dessau site, which preserves original workshop spaces and exhibition areas.

What to See#

• Bauhaus Building: Designed by Walter Gropius and completed in the mid-1920s, this building contains the school’s workshops, auditorium, classrooms and a celebrated glass curtain-wall facade that became an emblem of modernist architecture.
• Masters’ Houses: A row of residences built for the school’s masters in the 1920s located near the main building, designed to exemplify functional, modern living for faculty and their families.

Dessau is reachable by regional trains from Leipzig (about 45-60 minutes) and Berlin (roughly 1.5-2 hours). From Dessau station the Bauhaus complex is a 20-30 minute walk or a short city bus ride; follow signs to Gropiusallee and the Bauhaus Museum.

• Book a timed guided tour of the Dessau Bauhaus building - the restoration-driven tours explain the 1926-1932 design changes.
• Visit mid-week to avoid school groups; mornings are quieter in exhibition spaces.
• Look for the small original furniture pieces in the on-site museum - the simplicity of the designs rewards close looking.