UNESCO World Heritage Site

The State Bauhaus Weimar marks an important era in the more than 150-year history of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and is, at the same time, an indispensable part of humanity’s cultural heritage. In 1996, the Bauhaus sites in Weimar and Dessau were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in 2017 this was extended to include Bauhaus sites in Dessau and Bernau.

UNESCO’s official statement reads: »The Bauhaus, with its sites in Weimar, Thuringia, and Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, represents the so-called Bauhaus School of Architecture, which introduced revolutionary ideas in Building Design and Urban Planning between 1919 and 1933. The buildings designed by Bauhaus professors – from Walter Gropius to Hannes Meyer, and from László Moholy-Nagy to Wassily Kandinsky – established the Bauhaus style, which had a decisive influence on 20th-century architecture.«

In 2026, the city of Weimar and the Bauhaus institutions will mark the 30th anniversary of the inclusion of the Bauhaus sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List with an extensive programme of exhibits, presentations and guided tours. From March to November, there will be a wide range of events exploring the significance of the Bauhaus as a cultural heritage, its lasting influence, and the historical developments surrounding its preservation and reception. A highlight will be the ceremony marking 30 years as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, »The Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau«, to be held on 7 June 2026 – this year’s UNESCO World Heritage Day – in the Maurice Halbwachs Auditorium at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.

Discover the historic Bauhaus and the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Weimar today. Join the student guides on the Bauhaus Walk, or explore the historic sites at your own pace, following in the footsteps of the early Bauhaus, and experience both the history and the present day of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.

Students from the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar will guide you on the Bauhaus Walks through the sites where the Bauhaus was founded, sharing insights into the history and present-day life of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. You can visit all three Bauhaus sites in Weimar as part of the Long Bauhaus Walk.

The Bauhaus originated in Weimar, moved from there to Dessau, and later to Berlin and across the world. It has left its mark in many places, and continues to inspire us to this day. Throughout Germany, you’ll find outstanding sites associated with the Bauhaus and modernism – pioneering ideas and Architektur that have had a lasting impact on our understanding of living, working, learning and housing, and which you can explore, for example, on the Travel & Sites of Modernity. Three of these have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1996 and 2017 respectively.

The State Bauhaus was founded in 1919 in our university’s Main Building. The term »Bauhaus«, which the university has also used on behalf of itself since 1996, stood then as it does now for a spirit of experimentation, openness, creativity and the determination to find answers to key questions in art and culture, technology, science and society using contemporary methods. We are a vibrant institution that seeks to further develop its identity through dialogue with partners from all sectors of society.