Dessau is celebrating the centenary of its Bauhaus building with a two-day festival and an exhibition exploring the images and narratives of architectural modernism. The festival “Projections | Promises | Echo” is scheduled for 4 and 5 December 2026 at the Bauhaus Building and the Bauhaus Museum Dessau. The exhibition “Exhausted Narratives” follows at the museum from 5 December to 29 March 2027.
The anniversary takes us back to 4 December 1926, when the workshop and school building designed by Walter Gropius opened. A century later, the icon itself takes centre stage – along with the question of how photographs and architectural histories have shaped our view of modernism. This makes Dessau an appealing destination for anyone who wants to look beyond the Bauhaus’s clean lines and famous façades.
Images that turn architecture into an icon
“Exhausted Narratives” takes a small photograph of the Bauhaus Building as its starting point. According to the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, the photograph found its way into publications on architectural modernism via an index card from the Bauhaus-Archiv. The exhibition asks how images like this became narratives about beginnings, ruptures and supposed lines of development – and what gets overlooked in the process.
This offers a rewarding approach to a visit: first look at the building, then at the images and interpretations that made it famous. The exhibition runs at the Bauhaus Museum Dessau. The Bauhaus Building itself is also set to host “Glass | Concrete | Metal”, an exhibition about the building’s materials, running until 10 October 2027. This connects the question of architecture’s impact with its physical fabric.
An anniversary spanning past and present
The festival commemorates two public occasions: the opening in 1926 and the building’s reopening in 1976 as a Scientific and Cultural Centre. Installations, activities, forums and performances will explore the differing historical and political contexts. The building is thus not simply celebrated as a monument; it serves as a place to discuss remembrance, the public sphere and the responsibilities of cultural institutions.
The city’s perspective on the Bauhaus also helps put it into context. Dessau-Roßlau and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation have chosen “To the Substance” as the theme of the anniversary programme, focusing on the materials of modernism and their significance today. The Bauhaus came to a city shaped by political upheaval and economic challenges. Its history is therefore as much part of the city’s history as it is of architectural history.
Time for more than a photo opportunity
A winter visit can be planned around the two venues: the Bauhaus Building offers a first-hand encounter with the architecture, while the museum complements it with its collection and exhibition. Visitors travelling between 5 December 2026 and 29 March 2027 can combine “Exhausted Narratives” with “Glass | Concrete | Metal”; the festival takes place on 4 and 5 December. The foundation lists the museum’s opening hours from November to February as Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm; the Bauhaus Building follows the same hours during this period, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Check opening hours and the programme before visiting.
During this anniversary period, Dessau is particularly rewarding for travellers who want to understand architecture as the product of ideas, images and social conditions. The clean forms remain the starting point. The visit becomes truly engaging when the next question arises: which of the Bauhaus’s promises still hold true today?
Original reviewed by the editors · 11 November 2026
