It may have only been around for 14 years, but the ideas and structures brought about by the Bauhaus have ensured it remains one of the world's biggest design influences 100 years after it was first established. A school for architecture and art, the physical bricks and mortar of the Bauhaus existed in three different locations (which you'll see below) between 1919 and 1933, but its teachings, like its pupils, have disseminated across the globe and left their mark far and wide.
In its centenary year, many places across Germany (and indeed the world) are hosting special events and exhibitions to celebrate this monumental movement. A 'Grand Tour of Modernism' has been mapped out to allow you to visit various buildings that display Bauhaus flourishes, but here are five specific German destinations where highlights are taking place.
As the birthplace of the Bauhaus, Weimar obviously played an important role in its success. The highlight in this small, Thuringian town is the opening of a brand new museum, which took place earlier this month, created to provide more space for displays.
Instead of simply celebrating the work carried out by the school and the ideas it perpetuated, the museum looks at the political aspects of the relationship between these forward-thinking artists and the middle-class town in which they found themselves. It also considers the way Bauhaus design helped to change things in the aftermath of the First World War.
Also, until 15th May 2019, you can see a film at the Weimar University which looks at the way the Bauhaus influenced Japanese architecture.
In 1925, the Bauhaus moved to Dessau and so this town is another interesting spot to explore in 2019. Just like Weimar, a new museum is set to open, this time in September, to increase the display space for around 49,000 relevant exhibits. Through furniture, lighting, textiles, typefaces and more, the new exhibition will show how Dessau was used as a guinea pig to try out new ideas.
Elsewhere in town, a festival will allow flourishing architects to propose new ideas for the next Bauhaus concepts that may shape the future, whilst tours will be offered of the many buildings in the area that showcase the heyday of the movement. What's more, an exhibition entitled 'Invisible Places' will send you back to the 1920s by taking you to some of the places Bauhaus attendees lived and worked, along with activities they would have done at the time.
Manfred Br�ckels [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
It's unsurprising that Germany's capital will host some of the best events during this centenary year - even less so when you consider that this was the Bauhaus's final location in the two years before it closed.
You may have missed the grand opening ceremony at the start of the year, but you can still enjoy exhibitions such as 'Original Bauhaus' and 'Bauhaus_Interventions'. The former looks at famous Bauhaus pieces and tries to explain the stories behind them, whilst the latter highlights everyday objects from the 1960s that were clearly influenced by the 'Form Follows Function' idea of the school. There's also a unique look at how important the Mies van der Rohe Haus was to modernist architectural design, situated in the house itself in the district of Alt-Hohenschönhausen.
Meanwhile, further out from Berlin, in Eisenhüttenstadt, 'Design for Life' takes a look at the way attitudes changed towards Bauhaus design in the GDR during and after the Cold War.
In Hamburg, the centenary events focus more on the art side of the Bauhaus than the design. An exhibition called 'New Vision - New Objectivity' thrusts the focus on a new style of painting and photography that came about in the period when the Bauhaus first started. A range of portraits and picture montages show what life would have been like at the time from a social perspective.
Another interesting exhibition, which can be found at the Stiftung Historische Museen, details the influences that the Bauhaus movement has had on the city's newest district, 'Mitte Altona'.
The state of Saxony-Anhalt was intrinsically linked to the Bauhaus due to the fact that many of its attendees were born here. In fact, when the institution left Dessau in 1932, there were rudimental plans for it to move to Leipzig before Berlin was finally confirmed as its new home.
Halle, Dresden and Leipzig all have exciting events happening throughout 2019, not least the GRASSI Museum's 'Bauhaus_Saxony' display which will tell you more about the link between the state and the design school. In Halle, 'Tasting Tomorrow' promotes a conversation about the importance of porcelain and how it became an integral part of eating, whilst Dresden's 'Visionary Spaces' exhibit will display abstract art from masters such as Mondrian, Lissitzky and Klee - some of the most famous names associated with the Bauhaus.
If you would like to enjoy the 100 Years of Bauhaus celebrations across Germany, we can tailor-make a holiday just for you. Call us or click here to sign up to our mailing list.
