Bauhaus - The birth of modern architecture and design
6
days
from
£2,480
7th October 2025
- The art, design and architecture of last century’s most influential art school.
- The Bauhaus celebrated its centenary in 2019, resulting in the building of brand-new museums in Weimar and Dessau.
- Includes the Bauhaus college buildings and several pioneering examples of modernism.
The Bauhaus was unquestionably the most influential art school of the twentieth century. Much of the look of the modern world has been shaped by its principles and practices. The artists, architects and designers associated with the Bauhaus have exerted an enormous influence, on the modern movement and on art education in many parts of the world. Chief among them were Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe (both directors of the school), Josef Albers, Marcel Breuer, Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Oskar Schlemmer and László Moholy-Nagy.
The influence of the Bauhaus is all the more astonishing since its life was brief – it lasted just fourteen years – and its history turbulent and tragic. Though widely admired internationally from the outset, the school was subjected to constant stresses and strains, from ideological and political opponents, economic crises and governmental interference. Founded in Weimar in 1919, it was forced to relocate first to Dessau in 1925 – our tour coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus Dessau – and then to Berlin, where, in 1933, it met an ignominious end at the hands of Nazi stormtroopers. Ironically, its closure speeded the rapid world-wide dissemination of its ideas and designs as many of its masters and students fled abroad.
The Bauhaus wanted to eradicate the distinction between artist and craftsman, to stimulate the natural creativity of its students, to understand and exploit fully the inherent qualities of natural and man-made materials, and, above all, to design objects for industrial mass production in a way which took account both of aesthetics and economy. There were constant, often heated debates: between the Expressionists and the Constructivists; the craftsmen and the industrial designers; between the apolitical and the politically engaged. The intellectual energy generated by these debates contributed to an enormously creative atmosphere.
By studying the surviving work produced at this educational hothouse in the places in which it was made, unique insights can be gained into the nature of our own man-made environment and the development of modernism. This tour visits all the most important sites, some by special arrangement, of the Bauhaus schools and of buildings designed and furnished by the school’s workshops.
Itinerary
Fly mid-morning from London Heathrow to Berlin (BA). Drive to Weimar, the lovely small court city which as home to Goethe, Schiller, Liszt and other luminaries was a centre of the German enlightenment; the constitution of 1919 was drawn up in the town which gave its name to the ill-fated Republic whose dates coincide with those of the Bauhaus. Visit the Haus am Horn, built and furnished by the Bauhaus workshops. First of two nights in Weimar.
Visit the original Bauhaus Building by the Belgian Henry van de Velde (1904–5), then director of the school of arts and crafts which was predecessor to the Bauhaus; this contains reconstructed Bauhaus work destroyed by the Nazis (murals and reliefs by Schlemmer, Herbert Bayer and Joost Schmidt). Visit the Bauhaus Museum and Gropius’s Expressionist, abstract Trades Union Monument. Overnight Weimar.
Visit the Neues Bauhaus Museum, which opened to critical acclaim in 2019. Drive to Dessau, whose mayor succeeded in securing the Bauhaus in 1925 after nationalist forces evicted it from Weimar. See the Törten Estate (Gropius, Meyer and Muche) before driving on to the hotel. First of two nights in Dessau.
Visit the restored Bauhaus Building (1926), designed by Walter Gropius, incorporating student accommodation, a workshop wing with a spectacular glass wall, a theatre and a canteen, alongside special commemorative exhibitions. View other Bauhaus buildings in Dessau, among them the Master’s Houses (Gropius), and the Labour Exchange (Gropius). Overnight Dessau.
See the New Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, another opening in 2019 to coincide with the centenary year. En route to Berlin, visit Luckenwalde, where architects such as Erich Mendelsohn and Richard Neutra created much of the town’s centre between 1919–33. In the Berlin suburb Zehlendorf, see Bruno Taut’s Onkel Toms Hütte estate and some early works of Mies van der Rohe. Overnight Berlin.
The Bauhaus was closed in 1932 by the Dessau authorities and moved to Berlin, where it survived only six months. There are two major post-war buildings by Bauhaus exiles, the Bauhaus Museum designed by Gropius, and the Neue Nationalgalerie by Mies van der Rohe. See the exteriors of both of these, alongside other architecture with Bauhaus connections. Fly from Berlin to Heathrow (British Airways), arriving late afternoon.
Please note: because the itinerary is dependent on a number of appointments with private owners, the order and even the content of the tour may vary.
Expert speaker
Mr Tom Abbott
Specialist in architectural history from the Baroque to the 20th century with a wide knowledge of the performing arts. He graduated in Psychology and Art History from Carleton College, Minnesota and studied at the Louvre School of Art History in Paris. Since 1987 he has lived in Berlin and has organised and led many academic tours in Germany. Tom has a particular interest in the German and American architectural and artistic modern including the Bauhaus and Expressionism.
Practicalities
Flights (Euro Traveller) with British Airways (Airbus 320); travel by private minibus; hotel accommodation; breakfasts; 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all admissions, including a private visit to the Vatican (shared with another MRT tour); all tips for waiters, drivers and guides; all taxes; the services of the lecturer.
Dorint Am Goethepark, Weimar: a modern 4-star hotel, situated by the park and on the edge of the town centre. Radisson Blu Fürst Leopold Hotel, Dessau: a 4-star hotel with spacious, modern rooms. Westin Grand, Berlin: a 5-star hotel built in the 1980s and renovated in a classicist style, located on the corner of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstraße. Single rooms throughout are doubles for sole use.
Quite a lot of walking is required and standing around is unavoidable. Average distance by coach per day: 47 miles.
Between 10 and 22 participants.
Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting.
Dates & prices
2025
Date
Speaker
Price
20
Date:
7th - 12th October 2025
Speaker:
Mr Tom Abbott
Price:
£2,480 ex flights
£2,710 inc flights
(Based on two sharing)Testimonials
“We saw a lot. It was well organised and ran quite smoothly. I always love finding out 'how much I don't know'… a treasure of MRT tours.
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“The itinerary was very well-planned and included the major sites relevant to the development of the Bauhaus, in chronological order. The trip was compact and efficient and we visited an amazing range of buildings in just a few days.
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“For anyone interested in the history of design education or the development of 20th century architecture, this tour is a must.
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