Things to do in Dessau
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Haus Muche/Schlemmer
The Haus Muche/Schlemmer 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.
reviewed
-
Stahlhaus
The Stahlhaus 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. 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).
reviewed
-
Umweltbundesamt
In 2005 Dessau confirmed its reputation as an architectural trailblazer with the opening of the eye-catching new digs of the Umweltbundesamt. 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.
reviewed
-
Kurt-Weill-Zentrum
Haus Feininger, former home of Lyonel Feininger, now pays homage to another German icon with the Kurt-Weill-Zentrum. 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'.
reviewed
-
Meisterhäuser
On leafy Ebertallee, a 15-minute walk west of the Hauptbahnhof, the three remaining Meisterhäuser line up for inspection. The leading lights of the Bauhaus movement lived together as neighbours in these white cubist structures that exemplify the Bauhaus aim of 'design for living' in a modern industrial world.
reviewed
-
Pächterhaus
Foodies on a mission won't mind making the small detour to this gorgeously restored half-timbered farm house where seasonal and locally sourced ingredients get the gourmet treatment. In fine weather do anything to bag a table on the idyllic terrace beneath a canopy of vines.
reviewed
-
Bauhausgebäude
Across the world, many modernist masterpieces have fallen into ruin and, for a while, it looked as though a similar fate might befall the seminal Bauhausgebäude. Fortunately, major restoration, completed in 2006, successfully staved off the wrecking ball.
reviewed
-
Haus Kandinsky/Klee
The Haus Kandinsky/Klee 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.
reviewed
-
Kornhaus
In an original Bauhaus building right on the Elbe River, this place can't be beat for location, design and ambience even if the food is not terribly inspired. Dine outside on the big terrace or in the dining room with its crazily patterned carpet.
reviewed
-
L'Appart
The jazzy decor is a great foil for the tasty fare at this upbeat French brasserie with a nice terrace overlooking the market square and town hall. Locals in the know invade the place for the €5 weekday lunch specials.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Anhaltisches Theater Dessau
The Anhaltisches Theater Dessau is a rather pompous neo-Roman structure that was commissioned by the Nazis and is at odds with most of the town's architecture, whether it be Bauhaus or GDR.
reviewed
-
Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers
Aviation fans will be wowed by the vintage aircraft at the Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers. Tram 1 goes straight to the museum (get off at Junkerspark) from the Hauptbahnhof.
reviewed
-
Moses-Mendelssohn-Zentrum
The Moses-Mendelssohn-Zentrum tracks the life and accomplishments of the Dessau-born humanist philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, the godfather of the Jewish Enlightenment.
reviewed
-
Bauhaus Mensa
The food's only so-so, but Bauhaus fanatics can fuel up right in the storied Bauhausgebäude. Report to the bright white Bauhaus Mensa.
reviewed
-
Bauhaus Klub
The food's only so-so, but Bauhaus fanatics can fuel up right in the storied Bauhausgebäude. Report to the welcoming Bauhaus Klub in the basement.
reviewed
-
