When the Bauhaus arrived in Dessau in 1925 the ambition of giving shape to society became reality. The political, economic and cultural urban elites had brought the School of Design to the city in order to forge the future of the up-and-coming municipality in the spirit of modernism. The Bauhaus not only made its mark on the architecture of the city, but also contributed to the design of many municipal facilities, from city information office to library, from theatre to swimming pool. In the new Bauhaus book “Die unsichtbare Bauhausstadt. Eine Spurensuche in Dessau” (The invisible Bauhaus City. Searching for traces in Dessau), author Andreas Butter explores how a modernist network took shape in the city.
Nowadays, the idea of the “Bauhaus City” should inspire confidence and a sense of direction – but how did things look at the time? In 1925, when Lord Mayor Fritz Hesse brought the School of Design from Weimar to the ambitious industrial town, its housing concept delighted social reformers and intimidated conservatives. In various ways, the work of the masters and students had an effect on the destinies of the city’s inhabitants: besides Junkers, around 100 companies worked together with the institute. The worlds of art and academia set out on the path to modernism, with the Garden Realm of the Enlightenment’s Prince Franz serving as a role model and emblems of the new age making their mark in numerous locations. Nevertheless, after seven years in which the prevailing conflicts had become politicised, ill will won out. But even the NSDAP’s Sturmabteilung and the Public Prosecutor’s office were unable to bring about the school’s final demise, and the Bauhaus is now more celebrated than ever.
Based on various Bauhaus sites in Dessau, the book relates how the history of the city and the School of Design were closely interwoven. The hidden origins of this connection are addressed in a 32-page picture section with artistic photographs from present-day Dessau.
Bauhaus Dessau Foundation (Ed.): “Bauhausstadt Dessau – Labor der Moderne” (Bauhaus City Dessau – Workshop of Modernism), with texts by Andreas Butter and images by Daniel Niggemann, ca. 190 pages incl. 32-page picture section, Spector Books, Leipzig 2013, € 9,90