Dessau-Roßlau: Bauhaus, Culture and Cycling Tours
Accommodation in Dessau-Roßlau
Dessau-Roßlau combines Bauhaus history and theatre with museums, palaces and signposted cycling routes. The river landscape of the Middle Elbe is also part of the destination’s character: it stretches across the southern part of the city. Visitors planning a stay can choose between cultural discoveries and tours through varied landscapes—and tailor their search for a holiday apartment to their own vacation priorities.
Das ehemalige Arbeitsamt von Walter Gropius steht für die Bauhaus-geprägte Architektur Dessaus.
Photo: M_H.DE via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bauhaus, Art and History
The Bauhaus building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996. Another place of interest for Bauhaus enthusiasts is the Bauhaus Museum Dessau, home to the world’s second-largest collection of Bauhaus exhibits. The two sites offer different perspectives: the building represents the World Heritage site, while the museum is home to an extensive collection.
The cultural offering also includes theatre and music. Anhaltisches Theater Dessau produces performances for Dessau-Roßlau, the Anhalt region and Wittenberg, as well as their visitors. Its five departments are music theatre, concerts, drama, ballet and puppet theatre. The Anhaltische Philharmonie is based at the theatre and offers symphony and chamber concerts. As a smaller venue of Anhaltisches Theater, the Alte Theater presents puppet theatre, modern productions and improvisation.
Kornhaus also tells a story spanning different eras: Carl Fieger designed it in 1929 as a modern restaurant with a large window front facing the Elbe. Following extensive renovation and restoration in keeping with heritage conservation principles, it reopened on 3 October 2012. Art lovers will find the Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau in Schloss Georgium. Its collections include paintings, drawings and prints from 1400 to the present day.
Museums and Special Experiences
The “Hugo Junkers” Technikmuseum Dessau combines the history of technology with interactive experiences. It has a Junkers F13 flight simulator suitable for visitors aged 14 and over. The museum also offers “Apollo 11,” a virtual reality experience in which visitors can fly through space and explore the Moon.
At the Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte Dessau, the exhibitions are arranged along a route on the upper floor and in the 40-metre-high museum tower. The permanent exhibition “Faszination Natur” features large dioramas depicting landscapes of the river floodplains in the “Flusslandschaft Mittlere Elbe” Biosphere Reserve. It offers a museum visit focused on nature and landscapes.
Music lovers can also visit the Kurt-Weill-Zentrum in Dessau. It houses an archive and hosts events as well as a festival dedicated to composer Kurt Weill. The theatre, philharmonic orchestra, museums and centre give the cultural programme several distinct focal points.
Cycling Tours of Different Lengths
For a shorter tour featuring Bauhaus architecture, the signposted Bauhaus Buildings Cycling Tour is just over 18 kilometres long. Both its northern and southern loops start at the main railway station. A longer option is the 62-kilometre circular route through Dessau-Roßlau: it connects the outer urban areas north and south of the Elbe and takes in the floodplain landscape and the Vorfläming region. The different route lengths make it easier to choose a cycling tour that fits your plans for the day.
Other cycling routes have their own distinctive character. The Elbe Cycle Route passes directly by numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites in and around Dessau-Roßlau, while the Europaradweg R1 runs straight through the city. The signposted Gartenreichtour Fürst Franz around Dessau-Roßlau connects the palaces and parklands of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. It is named after Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz of Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817). On the Luther Trail, visitors approaching from Wittenberg via the Elbe Cycle Route reach Dessau; the trail first passes through Luisium.
River Landscape and Palaces
The river landscape south of Dessau-Roßlau adds a natural perspective to the cultural and cycling offerings. In the wider area, the Mittelelbe Biosphere Reserve protects floodplain forests, oxbow lakes and meadows along the Elbe. It has been part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme since 1997. Those interested in garden design and historic estates can also consider Schloss Luisium and Schloss und Park Mosigkau. Schloss Luisium was built in the northeast of Dessau between 1774 and 1778. Schloss und Park Mosigkau is one of the few Rococo ensembles in Germany to have been largely preserved in its original condition.
When looking for a holiday apartment in Dessau-Roßlau, it is worth first considering what you want your stay to focus on: Bauhaus and theatre, museums and music, or cycling tours and the river landscape. This helps you choose a destination based on the experiences that interest you most, without reducing its cultural and natural offerings to a single type of vacation.
For further orientation within the area: Dessau-Roßlau, Mildensee, Kochstedt and Roßlau.
For the broader travel overview: Saxony-Anhalt.
More Destinations
More places within the same destination:
