Dessau & Wörlitz
Two World Heritage Sites – the Bauhaus building and Masters' Houses, and the Wörlitz Garden Realm – close to Wittenberg, the city of the Reformation.
Dessau-Wörlitz lies in eastern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, where the Elbe and Mulde rivers meet, and brings together two World Heritage Sites. The first is the Bauhaus school of design, which moved to Dessau in 1925 and left behind modernist classics such as the Bauhaus Building, the Masters' Houses and the Törten Estate. The second is the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, created in the 18th century by the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau according to Enlightenment ideals, with palaces and landscape gardens such as Wörlitz, Oranienbaum, Luisium, Georgium and Mosigkau spread across the Elbe meadows. Sightseeing falls into two parts. In Dessau itself the focus is the Bauhaus: the Bauhaus Building, museum and Masters' Houses are all within walking distance – buy a combination ticket and book a guided tour of the Bauhaus Building. About 20 km east, the Wörlitz gardens deserve a full day for a boat trip on the lake and palace visits, followed by a bike ride to Oranienbaum. Some 35 km further east is Luther's town of Wittenberg, an easy half-day trip to see the Town Church and the Melanchthon House (the Castle Church and Luther House are covered in the Leipzig day trip). The best season is May–Sep, when gondola rides operate in the gardens and the palaces are open; most palaces close Nov–Mar. Getting there: Dessau is about 1.5 hours by train from Berlin and about 40 minutes from Leipzig. Local buses and bikes are all you need to get around, and the Elbe Cycle Route links the gardens. Plan on 2 days.
Top sights
- Bauhaus Building Dessau – The Bauhaus school building designed by Walter Gropius in 1926. It is a milestone of modernist architecture and a World Heritage Site.
- Masters' Houses – A group of white cubic houses designed by Gropius for Bauhaus teachers. Kandinsky and Klee once lived side by side here.
- Bauhaus Museum Dessau – A new museum that opened in 2019 for the Bauhaus centenary, displaying the world's second-largest Bauhaus collection.
- Wörlitz Park – One of the earliest English landscape gardens in Europe, and the heart of the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz World Heritage Site, with la…
- Dessau-Törten Estate – A workers' housing experiment designed by Gropius, featuring a consumer cooperative building and gallery-access apartments. Part of the Bau…
- Kornhaus Dessau – A circular restaurant on the Elbe designed by Bauhaus architect Carl Fieger, where you can dine while enjoying river views.
- Wörlitz Palace – Germany's first neoclassical palace, with furniture from the princely era, Wedgwood porcelain, and a collection of antiques inside.
- Gothic House Wörlitz – The private residence of the prince, one of the earliest neo-Gothic buildings in Germany, with fine Swiss stained glass inside.
- Stein Island Wörlitz – An artificial rock island modeled on the Bay of Naples, featuring Hamilton Villa and Europe's only man-made volcano.
- Oranienbaum Palace – A Dutch Baroque palace and town planned as a whole, with a well-preserved English-Chinese style garden and orangery.
- Luisium – A small classical palace and quiet garden built for Princess Louise, considered the most refined spot in the Garden Kingdom.
- Georgium – A landscape garden on the edge of Dessau's city center. The palace houses the Anhalt Picture Gallery, and the park is dotted with classical…
- Mosigkau Palace – The only fully preserved Rococo palace in the Garden Kingdom, with a gallery hall hung with masterpieces by Rubens and van Dyck.
- Großkühnau Park – A pastoral landscape garden around Kühnau Lake, with a small palace, vineyard hill, and orchards, ideal for a leisurely bike ride.
- Hugo Junkers Technical Museum – An aviation museum tracing the history of Junkers aircraft, with a Ju 52 known as 'Tante Ju' as its star exhibit.
- Ferropolis – A 'City of Steel' on the site of an open-pit lignite mine, where five giant excavators surround a lakeside performance venue.
- St. Mary's Church, Wittenberg – The church where Martin Luther preached, known as the 'Mother Church of the Reformation,' with the Reformation altarpiece by Lucas Cranach…
- Melanchthon House – The Renaissance-style house of Reformer Melanchthon, displaying his life and educational ideas. It is part of the World Heritage Site.
- Asisi Panorama Luther 1517 – A 360-degree panorama 15 meters high and 75 meters long, transporting visitors back to Wittenberg during the Reformation in 1517.
- All Saints' Church, Wittenberg – The door where Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses, the birthplace of the Reformation, where Luther and Melanchthon are buried.
- Luther House, Wittenberg – The world's largest museum of the Reformation, where Luther lived and wrote for nearly 35 years. It is a World Heritage Site.
- Luther Memorials in Eisleben – Two house museums where Luther was born and died, part of the World Heritage site Luther Memorials.
Where to eat
- Zieglers – The top-rated small restaurant beside Wörlitz Park, serving creative home-style dishes with local ingredients and Medit…
- Brauhaus Zum Alten Dessauer – A brewpub in Dessau’s city center that brews its own beer, serving its house “Bauhaus Beer” alongside spent-grain bread…
- Gasthaus Seeblick – A rustic inn right beside Wörlitz Garden and Wörlitz Lake. Its signature is daily freshly smoked hot trout, served with…
- Kornhaus Dessau – A riverside restaurant on the Elbe, designed in 1929–1930 by Bauhaus architect Karl Fieger. Guests can dine or have cof…
Itineraries
- Luther & Protestant Reformation Trail – A road trip tracing Martin Luther's life from Wittenberg via Torgau and Eisleben to Erfurt and Wartburg Castle.
- Bauhaus & Modernism Journey – Follow the migration of the Bauhaus school from Weimar and Chemnitz to Dessau and Berlin, visiting iconic campuses and…