Thuringia

Thuringia – the State Bauhaus in Weimar

The Staatliches Bauhaus was founded in Weimar in 1919 and ranks among the most influential art and design institutions of the 20th century. Its founder and first director was the architect Walter Gropius, who merged the Weimar Academy of Fine Art with the School of Arts and Crafts to create a new educational institution in which art, craft, and technology were meant to work together on equal terms. Numerous important artists and designers taught and worked at the Bauhaus, and their ideas left a lasting mark on modern architecture, product design, and typography. After several years in Weimar, the school moved to Dessau in the mid-1920s, where it continued its work in a purpose-built building.

The Bauhaus idea of uniting artistic design with industrial production revolutionized 20th-century design and continues to influence architecture, furniture design, and everyday objects today. The Bauhaus sites in Weimar were recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site together with further buildings in Dessau and Bernau. Weimar is still regarded today as the birthplace of one of the most influential design and architecture movements of the modern era. With the 2038 commemorative 2-euro coin, Thuringia honors the founding of the Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar.