Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [180]
Haus Feininger, former home of Lyonel Feininger, now pays homage to another German icon with the Kurt-Weill-Zentrum ( 619 595; Ebertallee 63). There’s a room devoted to Dessau-born Weill, who later became playwright Bertolt Brecht’s musical collaborator in Berlin, and composed The Threepenny Opera and its hit ‘Mack the Knife’.
Next up is the Haus Muche/Schlemmer ( 882 2138; Ebertallee 65/67), which makes it apparent that the room proportions and some of the experiments, such as low balcony rails, don’t really cut it in the modern world. At the same time, you also realise how startlingly innovative other features are. The partially black bedroom here is also intriguing; look out for the leaflet explaining the amusing story behind it – Marcel Breuer apparently burst in to paint it when reluctant owner Georg Muche was away on business.
The Haus Kandinsky/Klee ( 661 0934; Ebertallee 69/71) is most notable for the varying pastel shades in which Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee painted their walls (re-created today). There’s also biographical information about the two artists and special exhibitions about their work.
One-hour German-language tours (adult/concession incl admission €9/6; 12.30pm Tue-Sun, 12.30pm, 1.30pm & 3.30pm Sat & Sun) meet outside the Bauhausgebäude.
KORNHAUS
Another striking Bauhaus building is the riverside Kornhaus, a beer-and-dance hall designed by Carl Flieger, a Gropius assistant. It’s about a 20-minute walk north of the Meisterhäuser (via Elballee) and now a restaurant with Elbe views (Click here).
TÖRTEN
If the term ‘housing estate’ conjures up an image of grim tower blocks, rubbish-blown courtyards and shutters flapping on abandoned shop, leafy Törten, in Dessau’s south, might prompt a slight rethink. Built in the 1920s, it is a prototype of the modern working-class estate. Although many of the 300-plus homes have been altered in ways that would have outraged their purist creator Walter Gropius (patios and rustic German doors added to a minimalist facade?), others retain their initial symmetry.
The Stahlhaus (Steel House; 858 1420; Südstrasse 5; admission free; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct, to 5pm Nov-Feb) is home to a Bauhaus information centre where you can pick up an English-language pamphlet describing the architecture or join a German-language tour (adult/concession €4/3; tours 3pm Tue-Sun). These take you inside one of Hannes Meyer’s red-brick, exterior walkway-access apartment buildings (the so-called Laubenganghäuser) as well as to the Konsumgebäude (co-op building, still the site of a communal shop) and the Moses-Mendelssohn-Zentrum ( 850 1199; Mittelring 38; adult/child €2/1; 10am-7pm Mar-Oct, 1-4pm Nov-Feb). The latter tracks the life and accomplishments of the Dessau-born humanist philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, the godfather of the Jewish Enlightenment.
To reach Törten, take tram 1 towards Dessau Süd (€1.20), get off at Damaschkestrasse and follow the signposts saying ‘Bauhaus Architektur’.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
In 2005 Dessau confirmed its reputation as an architectural trailblazer with the opening of the eye-catching new digs of the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Agency; Wörlitzer Platz 1; 6am-10pm Mon-Fri, 6am-4pm Sat, 8.30am-4pm Sun). Built using the latest ecological technologies, its coloured and textured facade makes a striking sight as your train pulls into town. Public art graces the parklike outdoor areas, while the lofty, light-flooded forum is open to visitors.
Aviation fans will be wowed by the vintage aircraft at the Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers ( 661 1982; www.technikmuseum-dessau.de, in German; Kühnauer Strasse 161a; adult/concession/family €3/1.50/8; 10am-5pm). Tram 1 goes straight to the museum (get off at Junkerspark) from the Hauptbahnhof.
Dessau’s centre is rather Eastern Bloc – uninspiring and a mere footnote to its Bauhaus attractions. The Rathaus, rebuilt in simplified form after WWII, has a Bauhaus-style clock. The Anhaltisches Theater Dessau