BAUHAUS À BERLIN, DESSAU ET BERNAU

The Bauhaus is an artistic movement born in Weimar (Thuringia) in 1919, under the impetus of urban planner and architect Walter Gropius, who was one of the school's three historical directors along with Mies Van der Rohe and Hannes Meyer.

The principles of this movement revolutionized the architectural world of its time, laying the lasting foundations for a modern, practical conception of art, architecture and design. The idea was to strive for ever-greater functionality, combined with an unadorned sense of practicality. A very German concept indeed, if you know anything about the character and way of thinking of our neighbors and friends across the Rhine in many areas, even today.

In addition to architecture, the Bauhaus school also greatly influenced design in the applied arts. And lasting too, since its principles were felt in contemporary design many decades later.

Founded in Weimar in 1919, at a time when the Republic of the same name had just been proclaimed, bringing a wind of hope to artists and the whole country, the school had to leave Thuringia with the arrival of the conservatives and then the extreme right in the regional parliament. It found a new home in Dessau, an industrial town in need of housing and the ideal place to put the Bauhaus conceptual genius into practice. In 1932, the Nazi party closed down the Dessau school, which then moved to Berlin, where it survived for just one year, the Nazis calling it a school teaching"degenerate arts in the service of Bolshevism". Many of its representatives left Europe for the United States, where they were able to help design and build the emerging skyscrapers.

Despite this peregrination from one city to another, the Bauhaus' mark in Germany is significant. After the war, it even influenced the new schools of architecture in the GDR, before Soviet "socialist realism" took over. Its built heritage is still with us today, and our discerning eyes can only confirm that the modernism of Bauhaus creations is timeless and astonishing.

Among the many artists who took part in the movement were Vassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, László Moholy-Nagy and Marcel Breuer.

The Bauhaus in Berlin

Although its time in the German capital was brief, lasting barely a year (1932-1933) before the Nazis sealed its fate, the Bauhaus left some significant examples of its genius on the banks of the Spree.

First and foremost is the Lemke House (Oberseestraße 60), a villa with the geometric forms and skylights typical of the movement. This was Mies Van der Rohe's last project before his exile to the United States. It is now an art gallery.

The Funkhaus Berlin (Nalepastraße 18), also known as the radio house, is famous for having housed the East German state radio station for some 30 years. Its acoustics are exceptional, and today it hosts grandiose concerts in a majestic hall. Visits on request.

Finally, the Waldsiedlung Toms Hütte, a listed building, is a housing complex built between 1926 and 1932 in the Zehlendorf district. Its balanced, colorful facades are well worth a visit.

Last but not least, any visit to Berlin in connection with the Bauhaus should include a visit to the Bauhaus Museum, housed in the Bauhaus Archives near Ernst-Reuter-Platz station (see our dedicated section).

The Bauhaus in Dessau

After leaving Weimar, where it had been founded, the Bauhaus school found Dessau a fertile, tolerant cocoon in which to develop its ideas. The movement continued here from 1925 to 1932.

A building to house the school was erected, financed by the town council. Although partially destroyed during the Second World War, it has survived to the present day and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Gropiusallee 38). Its overall aesthetic is striking, with its wings composed of asymmetrical cubes. Student accommodation, workshops and teaching rooms were all provided for. It's certainly one of Germany's most evocative buildings of the movement.

At the end of 2019, a brand-new museum was inaugurated, exhibiting almost 50,000 pieces, making it the second largest collection in the world (Mies-Van-der-Rohe Platz 1).

Last but not least, a visit to theMeisterhäuser(master houses) is a must. Located just a few minutes from the Bauhaus building, they are surrounded by a pine forest. They were home to the movement's teachers and masters. Three villas escaped the Allied bombing: those of Lyonel Feininger and László Moholy-Nagy, Georg Muche and Oskar Schlemmer, and Vassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee.

Enthusiasts will push on to the Törten district or garden city, a life-size test of Bauhaus ideology created by Walter Gropius. The overall effect is striking.

Bauhaus in Bernau

Just a stone's throw from downtown Berlin, the small town of Bernau is home to a major Bauhaus building. Designed by Hannes Meyer, the Bundeschule has remained unchanged since its creation. Massive, functional and characteristically Bauhaus. Visits every Sunday by prior arrangement.