Bauhaus University Main Building

The main building of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is an Art Nouveau masterpiece and the very place where the Bauhaus began. Designed by Belgian architect Henry van de Velde and built 1905–1911 as the Grand-Ducal School of Arts and Crafts, the structure became home to Walter Gropius's Staatliches Bauhaus from 1919 to 1925. Today it serves as the central academic building of Bauhaus University. Its exterior is notable for sweeping arched windows and decorative sgraffito details by van de Velde. Inside, highlights include the restored Van de Velde Aula (assembly hall) with its flowing lines and the dramatic main staircase – famously photographed with Bauhaus students on it. The building's innovative open studios and workshop spaces embodied modern pedagogical ideals. Key Bauhaus figures like Gropius, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky walked its halls. After the Bauhaus moved, it housed architectural schools and eventually the post-reunification Bauhaus University (est. 1996). As part of the "Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar" UNESCO World Heritage listing, the main building is open to visitors on guided tours. It remains a living educational space, bridging a proud past of design revolution with the creative training of students today.