A day pairing Walter Gropius's 1926 Bauhaus Building and the Masters' Houses with a visit to nearby Wörlitz Park, continental Europe's first large-scale English-style landscape garden.
Dessau lies about 85 km southeast of Magdeburg, a direct 1-hour regional train ride. The city's Bauhaus Building, completed in 1926 as Walter Gropius's purpose-built campus for the relocated Bauhaus school, remains one of the most influential buildings in modern architectural history, and a short walk away the Masters' Houses estate preserves the semi-detached residences designed for senior faculty including painters Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. With an early start, the day can be extended with a regional bus trip to nearby Wörlitz Park, the centerpiece of the UNESCO-listed Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, where 18th-century canals, follies, and the stained-glass-filled Gothic House offer a completely different architectural era within the same day trip.
| Distance | 85 km from Magdeburg |
|---|---|
| Travel time | About 1 hour by regional train |
| Getting there | Regional train (RE) from Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof direct to Dessau Hauptbahnhof |
| Difficulty | moderate |
| Address | Gropiusallee 38, 06846 Dessau-Rosslau, Germany |
How to get there
- Method
- Regional train (RE)
- Journey
- Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof → Dessau Hauptbahnhof, about 1 hour direct
- Cost eur
- Covered by Deutschlandticket (€58/month, ~$63)
- Method
- Car
- Journey
- Magdeburg to Dessau via the A9, about 55 minutes
- Cost eur
- Fuel plus parking, typically €5-8 (~$5-9) per day
Suggested itinerary
- Morning: arrive at Dessau Hauptbahnhof and walk to the Bauhaus Building for a timed-entry tour
- Midday: visit the nearby Masters' Houses and Bauhaus Museum, then lunch in Dessau
- Afternoon: take a short regional bus to Wörlitz Park for a canal walk or rowboat ride before the return train
Weather through the year in Germany
Best time Shoulder Worth avoiding
Average daytime temperature in °C. Figures are for Germany.
Location
Gropiusallee 38, 06846 Dessau-Rosslau, Germany
51.8398, 12.2419 View on map
Highlights
- Bauhaus Building's glass curtain-wall workshop wing
- Masters' Houses, including the Kandinsky/Klee shared residence
- Wörlitz Park's canals and the Gothic House
- Bauhaus Museum Dessau
Tips for visiting
- Book the Bauhaus Building's timed entry slot online before the trip, especially on weekends
- Combining Dessau and Wörlitz in one day is achievable but tight - an earlier start gives more time at both
- The Gothic House at Wörlitz only admits visitors on scheduled guided tours at fixed times
When to visit
Spring through early autumn for the fullest Wörlitz canal boat schedule alongside standard Bauhaus opening hours.
Accessibility
The Bauhaus Building's ground floor is wheelchair accessible; Wörlitz Park's main paths are flat gravel, though some bridges and the Gothic House involve steps.
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Frequently asked questions
Can Dessau's Bauhaus sites and Wörlitz Park both be done in one day?
Yes, but it requires an early start; a more relaxed alternative is to focus the day entirely on the Bauhaus sites and treat Wörlitz as its own separate day trip.
Does a single ticket cover all the Bauhaus sites?
A combined ticket covering the Bauhaus Building, Masters' Houses, and Bauhaus Museum Dessau is available and is better value than buying separate tickets for each site.