Fotoeins Friday: Weimar, Bauhaus, and UNESCO
Built in 1911 by Dutch architect Henry van de Velde as the School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, the present-day main building of the Bauhaus University represents the beginning of the Bauhaus movement here in 1919. The photo above highlights the simple elegance of the central spiraling staircase in what is also known as the van-de-Velde building. One key highlight about the “Bauhaus movement” was a shift from decorative elements to functional forms “inside and outside.” For their important contributions to modern architecture and design, UNESCO awarded World Heritage Site status to the Bauhaus sites in Weimar and Dessau in 1996.
Thanks to Weimar Tourism, Thüringen Tourismus, Germany National Tourism Board for access to places and activities in the city; and to Dorint Hotel am Goethepark for a comfortable and welcoming stay. I made this photo above on 30 April 2015 with the Canon 6D, EF 24-105 L IS zoom-lens, and the following settings: 1/250s, f/4, ISO500, and 32mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-6No.
Fotoeins Fotografie 
18 Responses to “Fotoeins Friday: Weimar, Bauhaus, and UNESCO”
I enjoyed Weimar rather much when we had our school trip there. Beautiful city with tons of history 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m still amazed that a “tiny” town of 65000 people is overflowing with history and UNESCO sites. Weimar is recognized as “Classic Weimar” and as the birthplace for Bauhaus. There’s the Goethehaus, Schillerhaus, Fürstengruft, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Deutsches Nationaltheater, Park an der Ilm, Bauhaus-Universität, etc. Two days were not enough; I have to go back! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am also hoping to go there again perhaps next year as I really enjoyed the day back then
LikeLike
It’s a pretty town with a lot of cultural history. Weimar passes “under the radar” for many people (including many Germans, I suspect), despite the city’s importance to modern-day Germany. Go visit Weimar with your family! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I also wonder why so many Germans don’t even know about the beauty of this city but well, lots gets forgotten over time 🙂
LikeLike
I think it’s because EF and WE are very much at the geographical centre of the country, they’re not the big 5 cities, and on the train, people are usually on their way elsewhere. This is precisely why I’ve wanted to visit the area for some time. And yes, lots become forgotten over time …
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another problem in Germany itself is that much of the history of those cities are beign taught later on after grade 10/11, so when you are on high school level and many don’t reach that level, at least 10 years ago
LikeLike
Timo, I hadn’t thought of that, or the fact that some are streamed onto different educational tracks, and that it’s possible some might not even get to learn about Bauhaus and why it’s important to 20th-century Germany.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not 100% sure if it’s still holding true but I learned about Bauhaus during high school years. Surely the average German heard about Bauhaus but they most likely do not know the history of it and what it meant for human kind thus far. After all, until at least I was still in the high school age less than 1/5 reached high school level.
LikeLike
For me, the big thing that’s entirely remarkable is that we have Bauhaus to thank for just about everything we use everyday in our homes, and that Bauhaus isn’t all that old. “Form over function,” indeed 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Baushaus was a true revolution back then and it is great that they restorated some of the buildings again 🙂
LikeLike
Yes! The two key buildings at Bauhaus Universität (as well as the new library) in Weimar are simply outstanding. I now have to visit Dessau, and the Bauhaus sites in Berlin. 😉
LikeLike
Dessau is also one place I am still missing. Remember it from the history books with the original pictures from back then 🙂
LikeLike
I’m familiar with the term Bauhaus but have absolutely no idea what it means. Thanks for this visual example. Lovely, striking picture.
LikeLike
Thank you for your kind compliment! 🙂 Think of what we take for granted today in terms of 20th-century (and beyond) architecture, modern design, inside and outside the home: a lot of it comes from the Bauhaus movement, even the simple chair you’re sitting, and the table upon which your computer, tablet, or notebook computer sits. The word “Bauhaus” means “build house” and it was a statement by people in the early 20th-century against the highly decorative and ornamental nature of architecture and design. Thanks again for reading and for your comment!
LikeLike
Love the symmetry, and like Michelle was familiar with the term Bauhaus, but knew nothing about it. Thanks for the lesson 🙂
LikeLike
Hi and thanks, Nancie. I guess I may have to write a post about Bauhaus, at least in Weimar. 🙂 Thanks again for your kind comment!
LikeLike
[…] Weimar UNESCO WHS: Bauhaus Old and New • Weimar, Bauhaus, and UNESCO (Fotoeins […]
LikeLike