Museums in the GRASSI

BAUHAUS Architecture: The Grassi Museum is one of the largest museum complexes in Germany and today houses three museums of international importance: the Museum of Ethnography in Leipzig, the Museum of Applied Arts and the Museum of Musical Instruments of the University of Leipzig. The building complex was constructed between 1925 and 1929 according to plans by the architects Zweck and Voigt under the supervision of Hubert Ritter, head of the municipal construction department.

With stylistic echoes of New Objectivity and Art Deco, the building is considered one of the few new museum buildings in Germany from the Weimar Republic era. Bauhaus lovers will find a very special gem here: the Josef Albers windows in the museum's main stairwell. Josef Albers, the Bauhaus master trained under Walter Gropius, designed the 18 flat glass windows in 1927. The windows, which are up to seven meters high, are made of mouth-blown flashed glass and are considered the largest glass design of the Dessau Bauhaus period. During the Second World War, the historical originals were destroyed, but the windows could be reconstructed true to the original using picture sources.

The Pillar Hall of the Grassi Museum is also architecturally significant, and after its reconstruction in 2010, has once again been restored to its former glory. The representative event room was built in 1927 in the Art Deco style. The Pillar Hall is considered one of the most beautiful interiors of German Art Deco. The contrast between the external Art Deco façade and the typical Bauhaus glazing of the Grassi museum highlights the different attitudes of the two styles.