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Walter Gropius designed these houses for himself and several of the other Bauhaus "Masters" such as the painters Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956), Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) and Paul Klee (1879-1940).
The houses do not look extraordinary today, but were shockingly modern and luxurious at the time. They included glass fronts (then highly unusual) and large ateliers for the artists.
When the Nazis came to power they ordered the houses redesigned to eliminate what they called the "alien building forms". Some of the houses were further damaged by air raids during the Second World War.
In recent years five of the seven original houses have been reconstructed and restored to their original form.
Opening times of the Masters' Houses:
16. Feb. -31. Oct. Tue. - Sun. 10.00 - 18.00
01. Nov. -15. Feb. Tue. - Sun. 10.00 - 17.00
Entrance fees: EUR 5.00, or EUR 3.00 for students, unemployed & disabled people
Joint Ticket: Masters' Houses + Guided Tour of the Bauhaus Building, EUR 8.00 or EUR 5.00 if you get a reduction. Children up to 12 years get in for free. Leave a Comment
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Gigantomania was a common feature of all the Nazi building projects, and this theater in Dessau was no exception.
With over a thousand seats, it was one of the largest theaters in Germany when it was built in the 1930s on orders of the local Nazi ruler.
Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels attended the grand opening in 1938 -- a performance of Weber's Freischütz, which at the time was considered "the most German of all operas".
In May 1944 and in March 1945 the building was badly damaged by bombings, but it was re-built after the war with the help of the Soviet military administration, and was re-opened in August 1949 -- this time with a performance of Mozart's Magic Flute.
Third photo: Seating in the balcony
Fourth photo: The upper lobby
Fifth photo: The stage entrance
Besides this one, the Nazis built only one other theater during the twelve years of their dictatorship. The other one was in Saarbruecken and was also inaugruated in 1938. Leave a Comment
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 Das Bauhaus by Nemorino
The stated intention of the Bauhaus was "to reverse the split between art and production by returning to the crafts as the foundation of all artistic activity and developing exemplary designs for objects and spaces that were to form part of a more humane future society."
Between 1926 and 1932 they produced numerous works of art and architecture, and innovative designs for industrial products, many of which seem self-evident today but were stunningly new at the time. (See my tip on Applied arts since 1900 on my Karlsruhe page.)
The original Bauhaus was disbanded in 1933 under pressure from the Nazis. Several Bauhaus buildings still (or again) exist in Dessau. Leave a Comment
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 Kurt-Weill-Zentrum by Nemorino
When Weill had to flee from the Nazis he went first to Paris and then to London, but soon emigrated to America, where he wrote the music to Knickerbocker Holiday (1938), Lady in the dark (1941) and the musical film Where do we go from here? (1945). He also wrote an American opera, Street Scene, which had its world premiere in New York in 1947 and was first performed in Dessau in 2004.
In 1926 Weill married the actress Lotte Lenya (1898-1981), who played the pirate Jenny in the original production of The Three Penny Opera. They were divorced in 1933, but remarried in America in 1937.
While Weill was growing up in Dessau his family lived in several houses, none of which are still in existence. But there is an interesting "Kurt-Weill-Centre" in the Master House that was originally built for the painter Lyonel Feininger. Leave a Comment
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 Bauhaus by Leipzig
With constructing the Bauhaus Building, based on designs by Walter Gropius in 1925, Dessau became famous in the modern world. The building opened as the High School for Design. Later more buildings in Bauhaus style were erected in the city.
UNESCO has added the Bauhaus Building to their World Heritage List in December 1996. Leave a Comment
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The Anhalt Theatre Dessau is the cultural centre of the town. It serves as theatre, opera, dance theatre and houses the Anhalt Philharmonic Orchestra. It is the largest theatre in Saxony-Anhalt. According to a local our guild over 500 performances take place here yearly.
The ticket price depends on the performance. Students and kids get a discount. Leave a Comment
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 by mauro_pd
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 by mauro_pd
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 St. George's Church by LeipzigLeave a Comment
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 Der Alte Dessauer by Leipzig
He brought the Gose beer to Leipzig (the town, not me), which is still a popular and unique type of which can only be drunk here. Leave a Comment
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