Various exhibitions across the city will present architectural masterpieces of the 1920s and 1930s as well as highlight Bauhaus design ideas in disciplines such as weaving, printed graphics, glass and wall painting.

The Beginnings of Bauhaus in Germany

After World War I was lost, a new era driven by social changes started in Germany in 1919. The architects of the time were faced with the challenge of implementing the new zeitgeist in their designs. When Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus School in Weimar, he intended to teach students the importance of an alliance between art, architecture and craftsmanship. In order to improve the living conditions of the working population, newly designed buildings and products were supposed to primarily fulfil their purpose rather than only looking aesthetic. This was the exact opposite of previous architectural styles. According to the motto “Art and Technology – a new unity” the Bauhaus used principal geometric plane shapes for the design of modern industrial products. The usage of the primary colours red, blue and yellow as well as grey and black emphasised the pragmatism of the art style even further.   

After missing political support in Thuringia, the Bauhaus moved to Dessau (Saxony-Anhalt) in 1925. Harassment by the Nazis and disputes within the Bauhaus regarding its artistic approach characterized the next few years. Following the seizure of power by Adolf Hitler in 1933, the teachers of the Bauhaus had to deal with an ever-increasing political suppression, which eventually led them to the decision of permanently closing the Bauhaus.

Important Bauhaus representatives

• Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus and probably its most renowned architect, lead the Bauhaus school in Weimar as well as for a few years in Dessau. Before and after the Nazi takeover, he designed numerous residential buildings. During the 1930s and 1940s, Gropius lived in England and moved to the United States later on.
• The main building of the present Bauhaus campus in Weimar is based on plans of the Belgian architect and painter Henry van de Velde. His school for arts and crafts was the precedent of the future Bauhaus school.
• Since 1920 Paul Klee, one of the most important visual artists of the classical modernism, had taught the Bauhaus workshop “Design of Shapes”. With the beginning of the Nazi era, he returned to his home country Switzerland.
• Marianne Brandt was the most famous female artist at the Bauhaus. Some of her designs, e.g. a tea infuser and a couple of lamps are still produced today. Next to Gunta Stölzl, Marianne Brandt was the only woman in a leading position (director of the metal workshop) at the Bauhaus university.

 On the traces of Bauhaus in Leipzig

Leipzig with its long history as a city of trade fairs and commerce served as a podium for presenting ideas and products of the Bauhaus. The Grassimesse founded in 1920 and held at the Grassi Museum was an international sales fair and quickly became a well-known forum for the elite of art and crafts all over Europe. Its counterpart, the so-called Leipzig sample fair, simplified the sale of mass products by presenting samples and offering the opportunity to order larger quantities later on. Given these two very different formats and target groups, the Bauhaus representatives were able to reach a broad audience when presenting their products at both fairs. In 2019, the Grassi Museum of Applied Arts will commemorate its role in spreading the Bauhaus ideas with a special exhibition. “Bauhaus_Saxony” will be on between April 18 and September 29. The exhibition will also showcase how the Saxon industry helped in producing Bauhaus products, e. g. lamps or textiles, for the masses. Furthermore, Bauhaus lovers will find a unique structural gem in the building: the Josef Albers windows in the museum’s main stairwell. Josef Albers, the Bauhaus master who trained under Walter Gropius, designed the 18 sheet glass windows in 1927. Measuring up to seven metres in height, the windows are made of hand-blown flashed glass and are regarded as the largest example of glass design from the Dessau Bauhaus period. The originals were destroyed in the Second World War, but the windows were accurately reconstructed based on photographic records. www.grassimuseum.de/en/bauhaus-saxony

Further buildings reflecting the Bauhaus style can be found all over the city nestled between the otherwise largely dominant Wilhelminian style architecture. The Westbad, a former indoor swimming pool in the western part of town, is for example as well worth a visit. It was designed by the architect and city planning officer at the time, Hubert Ritter. The main swimming pool sees a great cupola, which holds itself without any pillars or columns. Today, the Westbad is a popular event location and offers guided tours (only in German). www.westbad-leipzig.de

A few blocks further into Leipzig’s west, the Konsumzentrale Leipzig is a fascinating architectural monument of the 1930s. The architect Fritz Höger was not a student at the Bauhaus himself, but was inspired by its design ideas nevertheless. The 180-metre-long building along Industriestraße has a reinforced concrete skeleton. Clad with clinker bricks and infilled with masonry, the design focuses entirely on the horizontal effect. This effect is underscored by bands of windows running along the entire facade as well as by the main entrance, which is shaped like a funnel. With its horizontal sections and the rounded windows, the building creates the impression of a passing ship. With this in mind, the carefully planned staircase, with its turquoise blue wall tiles and vermilion railing, also picks up on nautical motifs.

The Church of Reconciliation (Versöhnungskirche) sitting in Leipzig-Gohlis is one of the few examples of modernist church architecture in Germany. The reinforced concrete skeleton was built in a consciously modern style. The architect placed particular emphasis on the vertical by incorporating edges on the body and openings in the walls. The church’s entrance area is dominated by a cross window made of concrete with coloured panes of glass, which forms the main feature of the building. Its interior is strikingly clear structured and modest, typical of the Bauhaus. The Church of Reconciliation is located in the immediate vicinity of the stylistically similar Kroch estate.

The almost cube-like Haus Rabe based on plans by the architect Adolf Rading as well as the Bauhaus artist Oskar Schlemmer is situated just outside the city borders in Zwenkau. Although it ranks among the rather less known cultural monuments in Germany, it is a true gem of Bauhaus architecture. The inside is a well- balanced mix of a plain floor plan and vibrant colours. The ground floor expands into a great hall stretching across two levels and resembling a wide openness, which you would not expect given the comparatively small floor area. There is a travelling exhibition about the Haus Rabe, which can be seen at different spots across Leipzig’s city center (in German only). www.kulturstiftungleipzig.de

Further information about the anniversary 100 years of Bauhaus: www.bauhaus100.de

Photo: Versöhnungskirche, © Andreas Schmidt