Three Bauhaus Walks Revive the Weimar of the Early 1920s

Media Studies students have designed three historical Bauhaus walks through Weimar which have been published in the form of three city maps. The suggested routes visually and narratively show Weimar as influenced by the Bauhaus style. The individual walks are based on three elaborately illustrated maps of Weimar.

During the 2017/2018 winter semester, the »Contexts of Modernity« project module from the Media Studies course at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar produced the designs for three Bauhaus walks. Students studied the protagonists of the Weimar Bauhaus and researched their places of work and play. From this, they developed short texts and created meaningful and interesting routes, allowing visitors to walk and experience the history of the Weimar Bauhaus at their own pace. 

The three city maps offer a unique guide around the city as well as different themes. They show Weimar in the setting of the early 1920s, but also take in a view of today's urban spaces. The themed artefacts come alive in the spirit of the science of strolling pioneered by Lucius Burckhardt, the founding dean of the Faculty of Design at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.

For example, one walk deals with the everyday life of the pupils at Bauhaus and illuminates the places and buildings they visit. Another walk offers the opportunity to accompany Bauhaus artist Johannes Itten on a day in his life in Weimar. From his home to the places where he worked, visitors can still find and appreciate visible traces of Itten today. The third walk is dedicated to the controversies of the conflict-laden period in the wake of World War I and leads participants through centrally located locations in Weimar where the Bauhaus was endlessly discussed. 

The cards were illustrated and designed by Hannah Meyer who studied Visual Communication at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Her vivid and memorable illustration style brilliantly conveys information about the Bauhaus period. As a historical model, during the project Meyer and the students had looked at the invitation cards of Bauhaus residents for their festivals, some of which also referred to the routes through the city. The alumni then implemented the ideas and sketches developed from these original urban drawings.

The walking tour tickets can be obtained free of charge and exclusively for non-commercial purposes at the Bauhaus100 Coordination Office of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (email: bauhaus100@uni-weimar.de) and at various Bauhaus-related locations in the city, for example at the Bauhaus.Atelier at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 6) and at the information desk in the foyer of the Main Building (Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 8).

Publisher: 

Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Project Management: 

Dr. Simon Frisch, Media Studies degree programme, Faculty of Media, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar 

Design: 

Hannah Meyer, Hüftstern

Project participants: 

Leonie Becker, Leonie Bruns, Djanina Dragova, Hannah Gerlach, Roya Hedayati, Josefine Jatzlau, Laura Khachab, Frederike Merkel, Slavena Mihalska, Ellen Neugebauer, Anna Ponnath, Isabelle Schlecht, Sarah Schonert, Luca Schuldt, Stefanie Wettmann 

Printing: 

Buch- und Kunstdruckerei Keßler GmbH