Blick über die Muldebrücke auf den Dessauer Johannbau

Dessau-Roßlau

A Bauhaus city between Elbe & Mulde

The town city of Dessau-Roßlau is located 35 km from Wittenberg on the edge of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe, nestled in the riverine landscapes of the Mulde and Elbe with their lush forests and meadows.

The UNESCO World Heritage Sites Bauhaus, masters’ houses and Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz are also in Dessau-Roßlau. Thus, the city and its surroundings leave little to be desired for lovers of both culture and nature.

Bauhaus Dessau

Under Prince Franz of Anhalt-Dessau, who commissioned the Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz with its unique palaces and parks in the 18th century, the city became a center of the Enlightenment. Thanks to the Bauhaus, which moved to Dessau in 1926 as a college of design, the city became the capital of modernism. Famous artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Lyonel Feininger worked here, and composer Kurt Weill, poet Wilhelm Müller and philosopher Moses Mendelssohn hail from Dessau, the city in which Hugo Junkers wrote technical history in the 20th century.

While Dessau is today most famous for the Bauhaus, Roßlau was once known as a shipping town. Roßlau’s most important buildings include a moated castle dating from the 12th century and some classicist buildings by the architect Bandhauer.

These elements plus the city’s museums and galleries with their many treasures, the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau and varied leisure activities make Dessau-Roßlau a popular destination.

In and around Dessau-Roßlau, a unique density of UNESCO World Heritage Sites awaits visitors. The area dominated by the rivers Elbe and Mulde, today’s Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe, became a UNESCO-protected zone in 1979, and in 1996 the “Bauhaus Sites in Weimar and Dessau” made it onto the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 2000. In addition, the Luther Memorials in nearby Wittenberg were declared a cultural heritage of humanity in 1996 and have also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since then.

Discover the city of Dessau-Roßlau and its surroundings. We look forward to your visit!

The » WelterbeCard includes the following service offered by the tourist information of Dessau:

Free guided tour of Dessau

Our guided tour lasts 90 minutes and will give you some ideas for your further stay in the city. Groups of 10 people or more should please book in advance.

Opening hours
Tourist-Information Dessau (Ratsgasse 11):
Nov. - March: Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00
Sat 10:00 - 14:00

Apr. - Oct.: Mon-Fri 10:00 - 18:00
Sat 10:00 - 15:00

Roßlau branch office (Hauptstraße 11):
Mon and Fri 10:00 - 12:00
and 13:00 - 14:00
Tue/Thu 10:00 - 12:00
and 13:00 - 17:00

Getting there by bike
Elbe Cycle Route
Mulde Cycle Route
R1 European Cycle Route

Getting there by public transport
RB Magdeburg, Halle, Leipzig, Lutherstadt Wittenberg
RE Berlin, Magdeburg, Leipzig
Dessau-Wörlitz railroad, station Dessau - Oranienbaum - Wörlitz

Getting there by car
A9 Berlin-Munich - exit Dessau East and Dessau South
B184, B185, B187 direction Dessau

Sights

in Dessau-Roßlau

Bauhaus Dessau

The Bauhaus was the most important school of art, design and architecture of the 20th century.

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Bauhaus Museum Dessau

The Bauhaus Museum Dessau opened on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus on September 8, 2019.

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Hugo Junkers Museum of Technology

The Museum of Technology in Dessau-Roßlau details the life and work of aviation pioneer and engineer Hugo Junkers.

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Luisium Palace and Park

Between 1774 and 1778, Prince Franz von Anhalt-Dessau had the small Luisium country house built for his wife Louise as a private residence.

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Master’s houses Dessau

Near the Bauhaus building, the masters of the Bauhaus lived with their families in the „masters’ houses“.

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Laubenganghäuser (Housing Estate with balcony access) Dessau

The Laubenganghäuser, or „Housing Estate with balcony access,“ served as “people’s housing” for poorer workers and employees.

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Kornhaus Dessau

Built on the banks of the Elbe River, this historic restaurant occupies one of the most beautiful spots in Dessau-Roßlau.

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Historic Labor Exchange Dessau

This trend-setting example of functionalist architecture is now the seat of the city’s Office for Public Safety and Regulations.

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Mosigkau Castle and Park

Today, the Mosigkau castle complex is one of the last largely preserved rococo ensembles in Central Germany.

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Georgium Castle and Park

The 20-hectares of „George’s garden“ (the Georgengarten surrounding the castle Georgium) are a remarkable example of the ideas of Enlightenment.

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Großkühnau Castle and Park

The park of Großkühnau is the youngest complex of the Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz. Today, the castle is the seat of the Dessau-Wörlitz Cultural Foundation.

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Forest park Sieglitzer Berg

Prince Franz of Anhalt-Dessau had a forest park with a small classicist castle laid out to the west of Vockerode in the years following 1777.

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Bauhaus housing estate Dessau-Törten

The experimental settlement Törten represents an outstanding example of the New Building („Neues Bauen“) of the 1920s.

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Roßlau moated castle

Roßlau Castle is a moated castle dating back to the 12th century.

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Wallwitzburg

Die Wallwitzburg wurde im Jahre 1800 erbaut und ist seit 2006 wieder zugänglich.

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Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte

Das familienfreundliche Museum zeigt Ausstellungen und Sammlungen zu den Themen Erdgeschichte, Ökologie, Mensch und Umwelt.

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Museum für Stadtgeschichte Dessau

Das Museum befindet sich seit 1999 im Johannbau, dem Westflügel des einstigen Residenzschlosses der Fürsten und Herzöge von Anhalt.

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Dessau Zoo

500 animals of about 120 different species live in the Dessau Zoo amidst rare trees and shrubs.

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Anhaltisches Theater

Mit seinen gewaltigen Bühnenmaßen zählt das Anhaltische Theater zu den größten Bühnenhäusern Europas.

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Kurt-Weill-Zentrum Dessau

Die Dauerausstellung präsentiert sowohl analoge als auch digitale Entdeckungsreisen in das Leben und Wirken des berühmten Komponisten.

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Highlights & Recommendations

Actionbound in Dessau

interaktive Smartphone-Rallye spielen

Actionbound im Bauhaus

interaktive Smartphone-Rallye spielen

Bauhaus compact

For friends of the Bauhaus

This day trip will leave you wanting more. Friends of the Bauhaus enjoy a full day in the Bauhaus city of Dessau with its over 300 Bauhaus buildings.

We recommend the following schedule:
Morning tour of the Bauhaus and the masters’ houses followed by a snack in the café-bistro at the Bauhaus. Next, explore the historic Labor Exchange and take a trip to Dessau-Süd. Here, guided tours of the Törten housing estate start from the Konsum building. The faithfully restored houses Mittelring 38 and Kleinring 5 are open for visits. Also in Dessau-Süd are the Stahlhaus, a residential building by Carl Fieger, and Hannes Meyer’s Laubenganghäuser (houses with balcony access).

Further information
The tourist information office will gladly supply a Bauhaus route suitable for cyclists.

City tour

A tour through the center of Dessau

On a tour through its center, visitors learn more about the eventful and interesting history of Dessau, a city that developed from the residence of the Princes of Anhalt to the Bauhaus city of today.

This city walk connects historical buildings, cultural sites and tranquil places and is easy to follow thanks to bronze marker plates embedded in the sidewalks.

Further information
April - October: Mon-Thu 17:00, Friday on request
Saturdays 11:00, duration 1.5 hours

Prices
Adults: 8 Euro per person
Reduced: 6 Euro per person

Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz

Cycling tours or quick visits

Castles and parks, gardens and lakes, embedded in a cultural landscape - the 142 square kilometers of the Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz offer a unique symbiosis of nature and culture.

The best way to explore the Garden Kingdom, set in the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe, is by bicycle. Yet, it is no less rewarding to visit individual destinations: The Georgium for example, only a few steps away from another World Heritage site, the Bauhaus. The park in Wörlitz, easily reached thanks to the Wörlitz Railroad. The Baroque palace in Oranienbaum, or also lesser-known but even more charming sites such as the Luisium, Mosigkau Palace, Kühnau Park or Sieglitz Mountain.

Further information
For cyclists, details regarding a suggested route called the "Fürst Franz Garden Kingdom Route" is available at the Tourist Information Office.

Stadtrundfahrt durch Dessau mit dem Doppeldeckerbus

City tours in double decker bus

Every Saturday from May to October, the convertible double-decker »1761« or »3046« departs at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. from the special stop at the main post office next to the Bauhaus Museum for a classic city tour of Dessau. In about 100 minutes, the tour takes you right across the city. The cityscape explanation is taken over by an experienced tour guide (m/f/d). But don't worry, it won't be a dry rattling off of numbers, various cheerful stories from Dessau's history will put a smile on your face.

Further information under www.nahverkehrsfreunde-dessau.de/stadtrundfahrt

Cycling and camping - both stand for individual and relaxed vacations.

Just how varied this can be is evident everywhere in Dessau-Roßlau: relaxing and beautiful landscapes in the UNESCO Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Bauhaus and Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, cultural events such as the Garden Kingdom Summer or Europe's largest ska festival - everything is easily accessible by bike.

You also get beautiful and conveniently located campsites. So nothing stands in the way of your discovery tour in Dessau-Roßlau. The only worry that remains for you then: That you might not want to drive anymore. Because Dessau-Roßlau is many things, but definitely not a love just for one night.

Further information under www.keine-liebe-für-eine-nacht.de