Dessau
Dessau is a town in
Germany on the junction of the rivers
Mulde and
Elbe, in the
Bundesland (Federal State) of
Saxony-Anhalt. Population: 77,557 (December
2004).
Dessau was first mentioned in
1213. It became an important centre in
1570, when the principality of
Anhalt was founded. Dessau became the capital of this state within the
Holy Roman Empire. Anhalt was dissolved in
1603, but Dessau remained a prospering town, and became the capital of the mini state of Anhalt-Dessau. When Anhalt was reunified in
1863, Dessau became the capital again and remained so until
1918.
Dessau is famous for its college of architecture
Bauhaus. It moved here in
1925 after it had been forced to close in
Weimar. Many famous artists were lecturers in Dessau in the following years, among them
Walter Gropius,
Paul Klee and
Wassily Kandinsky. The
Nazis forced the closure of the Bauhaus in
1931, but it was not reopened until
1986.
Due to an armaments factory of the
Luftwaffe (German Air Force) the city was almost completely destroyed by Allied air raids in
World War II. Afterwards it was rebuilt with typical GDR concrete slab architecture and became a major industrial centre of
East Germany.
After the
German reunification in
1990 many historic buildings have been restored.
The composer
Kurt Weill was born in Dessau. Since
1993 the city has hosted an annual Kurt Weill Festival. Dessau was also the birthplace of
Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (
der alte Dessauer), a lauded field marshal for the
Kingdom of Prussia.
|
Bauhaus College in Dessau |
There are several examples of Bauhaus architecture in Dessau, some of them included in the
UNESCO World Heritage. The Bauhaus College itself was constructed after drafts by Walter Gropius.
Another World Heritage Site is the
Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich ("Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm"), a huge garden complex commissioned by
Prince Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau about
1750. It is strongly influenced by traditional English gardening. Being 25 km in width it is the largest garden of this type in continental Europe. The gardens are bounded by the Elbe river in the north.
* Pedigrees of
Dessauer, such as
Josef Dessauer*
Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau*
Heinrich Schwabe, astronomer remembered for his work on
sunspots*
Moses Mendelssohn, philosopher, father of Haskalah
*
Wilhelm Müller, famous for the
Lieder of
Franz Schubert*
Kurt Weill, composer
*
Dessau (English)
