Haus Hohe Pappeln
About This Site
Henry van de Velde spent a decade teaching Weimar how to make modern things; out on the Belvederer Allee he tried the argument on himself and his own family.
A house he drew down to the door handles, 1907–1908
In 1907/08 van de Velde built here for himself, his wife Maria and the children, and designed every part of it. How the house looks from outside follows, in his method, from how it works inside — one sentence that carries the whole creed of his generation, and one that is easier to believe standing in front of a building than reading it in a lecture.
Not a manifesto to look at
The roof is pulled low, the plan follows how a family actually moves through a day, and the interest is in the joinery, the fittings and the way rooms give onto one another rather than in any gesture at the front. Visitors expecting a landmark are often disappointed for about ten minutes, and then start opening cupboards.
The family had to leave
They did not get to keep it. The war turned the country against foreigners, and the Klassik Stiftung names that as the reason the family had to go — so the Belgian who had given Weimar its arts and crafts school, and the buildings the Bauhaus would later move into, left the city that had hired him. The foundation has run the house as a museum since 2003 and bought it in 2012.
Questions visitors ask
- What is Haus Hohe Pappeln?
- The house Henry van de Velde built for himself, his wife Maria and their children in 1907/08, designing every part of it down to the door handles.
- Why did the family leave?
- Growing hostility toward foreigners during the First World War forced the family to leave Germany — the Klassik Stiftung names this as the reason the Belgian designer who had given Weimar its arts and crafts school had to go.
- Can I visit now?
- Not currently — the house is closed for renovation. The Klassik Stiftung, which has run it as a museum since 2003 and owned it since 2012, expects to reopen for the 2027 summer season.
- What will it cost when it reopens?
- €5 for adults, €4 reduced, €2 for pupils aged 16–20.
Connected Historical Figures
architect • designer • founder of the Weimar arts and crafts school
His own house, built for his family in 1907/08 and designed by him down to the last detail.
Visit Information
€5 adults; €4 reduced; €2 pupils aged 16–20 — the prices the Klassik Stiftung publishes for the house while it is closed
Closed for renovation; the Klassik Stiftung expects to reopen for the 2027 summer season
Belvederer Allee 58, 99425 Weimar
50.9595, 11.3417
In Weimar's history
Historical periods
The Weimar modernism that preceded the Bauhaus and handed it its buildings.
The Bauhaus was founded in Weimar in 1919 and voted out by 1925 — time enough to change what a design school is, and not enough for the town that made it to keep it.
Articles
Weimar's Jugendstil is a style of houses: the villa streets west and south of the old town, built between the 1890s and 1914, with Rudolf Zapfe's façades and Henry van de Velde's own buildings.
Van de Velde's own house on the Belvederer Allee, built 1906/07.