The Bauhaus building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996. In Dessau-Roßlau, collections, theatres and routes through the landscape add further perspectives to this Bauhaus connection. You can make cultural venues and different routes the focus of your stay.
Bauhaus, Palaces and Collections
The Bauhaus Museum Dessau houses the world’s second-largest collection of Bauhaus exhibits. The building and the collection offer two different ways to explore the Bauhaus: through an award-winning building and through the exhibits in the museum.
Palaces offer a different historical perspective, too. Luisium Palace was built in the northeast of Dessau between 1774 and 1778. Mosigkau Palace and Park are among the few Rococo ensembles in Germany to have survived largely in their original state. The art history on offer extends further still: the Anhalt Art Gallery Dessau in Georgium Palace includes painting, drawing and prints from 1400 to the present day.
At the Kornhaus, you can distinguish the original design from the building’s later history: Carl Fieger designed it in 1929 as a modern restaurant with a large window front facing the Elbe. Following extensive renovation and restoration in keeping with heritage conservation principles, it reopened on 3 October 2012. The original idea and the later reopening date mark two different chapters in the building’s history.
Theatre, Music and Experiences
The Anhaltisches Theater Dessau produces performances for Dessau-Roßlau, the Anhalt region and Wittenberg, as well as their visitors, across five disciplines: music theatre, concerts, drama, ballet and puppetry. The Anhalt Philharmonic is based at the theatre and offers symphony and chamber concerts. The Altes Theater is a smaller venue of the Anhaltisches Theater, presenting puppet theatre, modern productions and improvisation. Another way to explore music is at the Kurt Weill Centre, which has an archive and hosts events as well as a festival dedicated to the composer.
At the Hugo Junkers Technology Museum in Dessau, you can experience two different themes. The Junkers F13 flight simulator is suitable for people aged 14 and over; advance booking is requested. The “Apollo 11” virtual reality experience lets visitors fly through space and explore the Moon. Advance booking is also requested for this experience. The two attractions have clearly different focuses: a flight simulator connected with the Junkers F13 on the one hand, and a virtual exploration of space and the Moon on the other.
The Dessau Museum of Natural History and Prehistory has permanent exhibitions along a route on the upper floor and in the 40-metre-high museum tower. The permanent exhibition “Fascinating Nature” features large dioramas of recreated landscapes from the river floodplains of the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve. The Middle Elbe river landscape stretches south of Dessau-Roßlau; in the museum, the theme of floodplains is presented from an exhibition perspective.
Routes through Dessau-Roßlau and the Landscape
The signposted Bauhaus Buildings Cycle Route is just over 18 kilometres long. Its northern and southern loops both start at the main railway station. By contrast, a 62-kilometre circular route through Dessau-Roßlau connects the outlying urban areas north and south of the Elbe and takes in the floodplain landscape and the Vorfläming region. The distances can be compared directly, while the routes have different focuses: Bauhaus buildings on the one hand, and outlying urban areas and landscapes on the other.
The signposted Garden Kingdom Tour Fürst Franz around Dessau-Roßlau connects the palaces and parks of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom. It is named after Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz of Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817). The Elbe Cycle Route also passes directly by numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites in and around Dessau-Roßlau, while the EuroVelo Route R1 runs straight through the city. Coming from Wittenberg, the Luther Trail approaches Dessau via the Elbe Cycle Route and first passes through Luisium. These route descriptions differ in their courses and landmarks; check local conditions before setting out.
More destinations
Discover more destinations: Dessau-Roßlau, Mildensee, Kochstedt, Roßlau, Salzlandkreis, Mansfeld-Südharz, Harz, Wittenberg.
Back to the main travel overview: Saxony-Anhalt.
