The Three Locations of the Bauhaus

Bauhaus/Phase 1
Weimar, Germany

bauhaus1


Bauhaus/Phase 1
Dessau, Germany

dessau

 


Bauhaus/Phase 3
Berlin, Germany

Bauhaus_Berlin


map

Bauhaus/Phase 1
Weimar, Germany


The first location of the Bauhaus was in the School of Art & Crafts in Weimar. That school was originally created using the ideals of Henri van de Velde. He was replaced by the German architect Walter Gropius who, in 1919, reorganized the school under the name Bauhaus School of Design.

"Let us create a new guild of craftsmen without the class-distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist!"

In Weimar, students started with a six month foundation course followed by classes taught by both craftsman and artists. The Bauhaus manifesto proclaimed that the ultimate aim of all creative activity is "the building". New students immediately participated in building projects.

This phase was influenced by the Expressionist and Arts & Crafts Movements. Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Oskar Schlemmer were among the faculty.

Despite a successful first exhibit the school was perceived as too liberal by the city of Weimar and was forced to leave for Dessau.

 

Bauhaus/Phase 2
Dessau, Germany


The Bauhaus was welcomed by the mayor of Dessau in 1925. Dessau was suitable location because its heavy industry could participate in the production of Bauhaus products. A modern building complex was erected out of concrete glass and steel. Gropius designed classrooms, dormitories and faculty housing that were grouped in a complete artistic community.

In response to the past criticisms of the school's curriculum, Gropius emphasized the merger of the arts and industry in studios which produced textiles, home appliances and accessories and furniture. Gropius and his successor, Hannes Meyer, were removed due to their political views, and replaced by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. To eradicate the subversive elements in the student body, Mies expelled all of the students and then readmitted only the ones who were perceived as politically acceptable.

Bauhaus/Phase 3
Berlin, Germany


The Bauhaus moved to Berlin briefly in 1933 but it had no chance to reestablish. A rise of the National Socialist Party (Nazis) in Dessau forced the closure of the school in 1932.

In 1979, the Bauhaus Archive, (above) designed by Gropius, was built in West Berlin. In 1997 the building was placed under historical protection and has been completely renovated under unified Germany.

Visit the three locations online


Currently all three locations have been turned into museums. Follow our visits from 1983 to 2007 on our blog.

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