The Bauhaus Building in Dessau opened on 4 December 1926. Exactly a hundred years later, on 4 and 5 December 2026, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation is hosting a birthday celebration and discussion forum. The exhibition “Projections | Promises | Echo” at the Bauhaus Museum opens on 5 December and runs until 29 March 2027. It takes the opening in 1926 and the building’s reopening in 1976 as starting points for exploring memory, the public sphere and the role of cultural institutions.
For a December trip, the anniversary makes a worthwhile introduction to Dessau’s Bauhaus sites. The city tells the story of modernism through more than a famous façade: the school, houses and housing estates are spread across different parts of the city. Together, they show how Bauhaus ideas related to learning, work and everyday life.
From the workshop wing to the museum
Walter Gropius designed the Bauhaus Building, constructed in 1925–26 after the school moved from Weimar to Dessau. Its sections are offset from one another; the foundation recommends walking all the way around it, as its form cannot be grasped from a single viewpoint. The relationship between structure and views into the building is particularly clear in the steel-and-glass workshop wing: the work inside was intended to be visible from outside.
The Bauhaus Museum Dessau is closer to the main railway station, while the historic school building is around a kilometre and a half away. At the museum, the exhibition places the anniversary in a broader context; in the Bauhaus Building, the architecture itself can be read as part of everyday teaching and working life. A festival takes place at both venues on 4 and 5 December. According to the foundation, the programme combines installations, activities, forums and performances. The exhibition opens on 5 December.
Designing domestic life
From the school, the Bauhaus story leads to the Masters’ Houses. Gropius designed them in 1925–26 for the teaching staff: three pairs of semi-detached houses and one detached house in a small pine wood. Interlocking cubes, large windows, balconies and terraces make them both homes and demonstrations of modern architecture. Hot running water, heating and modern kitchen appliances were part of the ambition to reorganise everyday life.
The story continues further south in Dessau-Törten. A housing estate for a broader section of the population was built there from 1926 onwards. It broadens the perspective from the homes of the Bauhaus masters to the question of how efficient construction and housing were conceived on a larger scale. The Bauhaus Foundation lists the estate among the sites accessible by public transport.
By bus and tram
The Bauhaus route is useful for finding your way around: bus 10 runs from the bus station to several Bauhaus buildings. From the main railway station, a tram takes visitors towards Dessau-Törten and the Konsumgebäude (co-operative store building). The Bauhaus Museum is within walking distance of the station; the foundation puts the distance at around 750 metres. Check timetables before travelling, as they may change.
Visitors attending the anniversary celebrations can combine the festival on 4 and 5 December with the exhibition from the following day. According to the foundation, the museum’s regular winter opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm; the Masters’ Houses are also open Tuesday to Sunday in November and February. The Bauhaus sites are closed over Christmas, from 24 to 26 December. Check for special opening hours and any programme changes before visiting.
Dessau in December is particularly suited to travellers who want to look beyond architectural façades. The route between school, museum and housing estate turns the Bauhaus into a story about spaces and the people who use them: about how we learn, work and live – and which of these designs stand the test of everyday life.
Original reviewed by the editors · 14 November 2026
