The Open Space Gallery

A journey through time in our city

Take your time for a walk and discover photo impressions on an approximately 3.5 km long circular route between the railway station and Kavalierstraße.
Temporary exhibitions in this interesting format present appealing topics such as urban development, urban history and urban culture.

In the current exhibition, city views of Dessau-Roßlau from today are compared with photos from the past 60 years on 14 image banks.

The result is an exciting testimony to the city’s development. Take your time and marvel at the small and large changes over the course of time on a walk through the town from stele to stele or at the original locations.

Railway station forecourt

Railway station forecourt

Thanks to the activities of the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company, one of the most important railway companies in Germany in the 19th century, Dessau already had a rail network and long-distance railway connection from 1840.

The station bridge over the long-distance railway network is an important link to the Ziebigk district and access to the Elbe. The historic bridge was destroyed during the war and rebuilt several times over the decades. The bridge was reopened in its current form in 2003. Since the 1930s, pedestrians have used the tunnel in the railway station to access the western part of the city.

The Dessau railway station building was built in 1876 according to plans by architect Franz Schwechten, who also designed the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin and Wittenberg Central Station. Bombs severely damaged the main station on 7 March 1945. It was rebuilt between 1948 and 1954, taking up the historical cubature, but only in a very simplified form. Modernisation including the subway and platforms took place in the 1990s. The forecourt was last given a facelift in 2019.

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Station square

Bitterfelder Str. / Antoinettenstraße

Dessau’s industrialisation was exemplary. In 1855, the Prussian building councillor Viktor von Unruh founded the Deutsche Continentalgesellschaft, with a gasworks and gas appliance factory, in the immediate vicinity of the main railway station. This gave rise to the colloquial term “gas quarter” for this fast-growing area full of innovative possibilities. None other than the young Hugo Junkers was able to carry out research and establish businesses here, laying the foundations for his further pioneering developments in the city.

After reunification, many buildings in this area were demolished and today’s cinema and business centre was built. In July 1998, the UCI Kinowelt Dessau opened as a round building in the style of a historic sales pavilion of the gas appliance factory that once stood on this site.

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Peace Square / Bear Clock

Georgium Castle

The gardens, which were created from 1780 onwards based on the English model, are named after their builder Johann Georg von Anhalt-Dessau, Prince Franz’s brother, who was travelling with him and also wanted to contribute to the vision of a large landscape garden. Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff drew up the plans for the palace and other buildings there. Following the basic ideas of tolerance and enlightenment, the same signature of a park open to all visitors as an educational garden with significant visual axes, incorporating the existing nature and embedded palace buildings, can be seen in all the gardens of the Garden Kingdom.

Since 1959, the palace has served as the seat of the Anhalt Picture Gallery Dessau with a rich collection of old German, German and Dutch paintings. Extensive reconstruction and renovation work was carried out between 1990 and 1997. The entire roof truss and the belvedere were removed and renewed. A further phase of maintenance and modernisation has been underway since 2010.

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Peace Square / Bear Clock

Luisium Castle

Prince Franz gave this gem in the Dessau Muldaue to his wife Louise as a private retreat for her 30th birthday. The park, which is part of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom, was laid out by Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck between 1774 and 1778 in the English style.

With its simple yet perfect proportions, the small, intimate palace is a masterpiece by the architect Erdmannsdorff. The neoclassical country residence of Princess Louise von Anhalt-Dessau appears today to be the most idyllic of the grounds in the Garden Kingdom between Dessau and Wörlitz.

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Antoinettenstr. 7

Vineyard castle in Kühnauer Park

Kühnau Park is situated in a charming location on the southern shore of Lake Kühnau. Inspired by a trip to Italy, Hereditary Prince Friedrich, son of Prince Franz, had it laid out as the last and most westerly park in the Garden Kingdom, skilfully exploiting the natural situation. The vineyard castle is gracefully enthroned on a hill with a unique view.

The neoclassical building was built between 1818 and 1820 by Carlo Ignazio Pozzi and originally served as a ducal tea house. Today, the site, whose vineyard is reminiscent of a motif from Tuscany, is a venue for smaller events, including the annual vineyard festival on the last Saturday in August.

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Antoinettenstr. 7

Kornhaus

The extensive landscape garden is the second largest park in the Garden Kingdom. It is named after the builder and younger brother of Prince Franz, Prince Johann Georg.
The park impresses with numerous classicist and romanticizing park buildings, sculptures, small architecture and monuments, which were harmoniously embedded in the landscape and nature.

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parking space Bauhaus Museum Dessau

Master houses

Walter Gropius created prototypes for all functional building types. At the same time as the Bauhaus building, he designed three identical semi-detached houses for the Bauhaus masters and a single house for the director as model buildings for villas. The so-called Masters’ Houses were built in 1926 in a pine grove on today’s Ebertallee.

After the Bauhaus closed in 1932, the houses were rented out. After well-known residents such as Walter Gropius, Oskar Schlemmer and Wassily Kandinsky, senior employees of the Junkerswerke moved in, and after 1945 a polyclinic and other residents also moved in. Some of the buildings were remodelled for private residential purposes.

The ensemble of Masters’ Houses was extensively renovated in 1992 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The houses can be visited individually or with guided tours.

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parking space Bauhaus Museum Dessau​

Historic labour office

As part of the creation of modern buildings in Dessau in the 1920s, the Historic Labour Office is a prime example of functionality. In 1927, Walter Gropius won a competition organised by the city of Dessau to build the employment office. His winning design shows a prototype for a functional employment office and is characterised by its striving for rationalisation. The unusual floor plan makes the steel construction clad in yellow bricks a pioneering example of functionalist architecture.

Since its refurbishment in 2002-2003, the building, most of which has been left in its original state, has served as the headquarters of the Office for Public Safety and Order of the City of Dessau-Roßlau and can be visited during opening hours and on special guided tours.

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City Park / Water Fountain

City Park / Bauhaus Museum Dessau

Dessau’s green lung in the heart of the city developed from the Ducal Palace, which was demolished in 1927, and the Palaisgarten behind it. The park was called the Stadtgarten until 1950. The area grew to its current size through the demolition and clearance of other buildings, including the Palais Reina, which was destroyed in the war and was then home to the Anhalt Picture Gallery.

In 2019, the new Bauhaus Museum Dessau was opened on the edge of the city park. It is a house within a house – a floating bar of concrete in a glass shell designed by the Spanish firm addenda architects. With around 49,000 objects, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation’s collection is the second largest and also one of the youngest collections of Bauhaus artefacts in the world.

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City Park / Water Fountain

House of Youth / Anhalt Justice Centre

On this site in Willy-Lohmann-Straße, the Kreishandwerkerschaft built the Haus des Handwerks in 1971. In 1984, it was converted into the House of Youth and Sportsmen (HDJS for short). Until its demolition in 1992, the HDJS was a favourite meeting place for many Dessau residents and the venue for numerous dance and sporting events.

The site was then converted into a new judicial centre as an extension to the nearby district court. Since 1996, the building has been the seat of the district court, labour court, administrative court and social court – renamed the Anhalt Justice Centre in 2012. The name harks back to Dessau’s time as the residential capital of Anhalt with many different judicial buildings in the former Bismarck-Straße.

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Kavalierstr. 66

Kavalierstraße

Looking south along the former Wilhelm-Pieck-Straße (now Kavalierstraße), you can see the Museum of Natural History and Prehistory Dessau with its striking 40 metre high tower. As part of the redevelopment of the city centre in the 1970s, building complexes were constructed along the street, such as the “Haus des Reisens”, a former travel agency on the left-hand side.

Following extensive refurbishment, Kavalierstraße was given a new lease of life at the end of 2018 and is now a promenade in the city centre. The Haus des Reisens is now home to a popular café and the Alte Theater, a venue of the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau. As part of the 2010 urban redevelopment programme, the Old Theatre was reactivated on the original site of the Ducal Theatre under the auspices of the Bauhaus Foundation with the aim of densifying the city centre.

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Kavalierstr. 66

Tiergarten Bridge

The Tiergarten Bridge (popularly known as the “Eierschneider”) is a 93 metre long bridge over the Mulde River for pedestrians and cyclists that was completed in 2003. After the floods in 2002, the old bridge had to make way for a new one that would allow more room for manoeuvre in future floods. The pillarless suspension bridge connects the Vorderer Tiergarten with the city.

For residents and visitors, the Vorderer Tiergarten has always played an important role as a flowing transition from the city to nature. In the past, the Princes of Anhalt used the floodplain forest as a hunting ground, today it serves as a natural floodplain for the Mulde river and its green floodplain landscape invites visitors to enjoy relaxing cycle tours and walks at any time of year.

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Askanische Str. / Museum Crossing

Ludwigshafener Straße / City Entrance East

The so-called City Entrance East consists in its core area of Schloßplatz, Marienkirche, Johannbau, Lustgarten and Mühleninsel. The design of this complex site is both an urgent urban development goal and an urban planning challenge. The aim is to restructure the cityscape in harmony with history and modernity, taking into account the central traffic routing and the transition to the Tiergarten and Mulde recreational areas.

The open space directly in front of the Johannbau has already been redesigned, and a redesign of other open spaces up to the Mulde will be realised by 2024. A modern new hotel building between the Johannbau and St Mary’s Church has complemented the image of the entrance area since June 2023. The redesign process is still ongoing.

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Askanische Str. / Museum Crossing

Johannbau (City Palace)

The Johannbau is the only surviving wing and also the oldest part of the former four-winged residential palace, which Prince Johann IV of Anhalt had built around 1530. For many centuries, this early Renaissance building served as the residence of the princes and dukes of Anhalt. After the bombing in the Second World War, only the west wing was preserved. It was only after the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990s that the Johannbau was extensively renovated and reconstructed.

Today, it is home to the Museum of City History, whose permanent exhibition “A Place of Sensible People” sheds light on the 800-year cultural history of Dessau-Roßlau and the Anhalt region, which is rich in famous personalities and innovations. The museum landscape on the history of the town is also enriched by the Museum of Natural History and Prehistory, the Moses Mendelssohn Centre, the Kurt Weill Centre, the Hugo Junkers Technology Museum and the Roßlau Maritime Museum

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Franzstr. 98

Seminar place

The area to the west of Dessau railway station was subject to extensive urban development measures at the end of the 19th century in order to create a connection from the town via the railway station to the village of Ziebigk. The historic building on Seminarplatz was built in 1913 as the Herzogliches Oberlyzeum (House of the Teachers’ Seminary). After the Second World War, it served as a hospital for the Soviet armed forces stationed in Dessau. It then remained unused for a long time until it was vacated in 1991 for the new Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and renovated until its opening on 1 October 1993. Since then, the university site in Dessau has been home to additional buildings on an extensive modern campus.

The seminar square at the western exit of the main railway station today combines building complexes of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences with official institutions such as the Employment Agency and the Dessau Job Centre. The adjoining Bauhausstraße leads directly to the Bauhaus World Heritage Site.

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Franzstr. 98

Heideplatz / Waldsiedlung Kochstedt

The picture shows the main entrance to the former barracks complex in Dessau-Kochstedt, today the access road to Heideplatz. The barracks were built in the mid-1930s and were used to station Soviet forces after the Second World War until their withdrawal in 1992.

From 1995, the site was extensively cleared and redeveloped. In June 1996, concrete planning began for the conversion of this military wasteland into a new residential area, the so-called “Waldsiedlung”. In 1997, the first foundations were laid for owner-occupied homes and some of the barracks buildings were converted into flats. The preservation of some of the barracks buildings goes hand in hand with the construction of numerous detached houses in this idyllic location. The city of Dessau-Roßlau has made an exemplary contribution to sustainable urban development here.

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Kavalierstr. 73

Kavalierstraße / Friedrich-Naumann-Straße

Kavalierstraße (formerly Wilhelm-Pieck-Straße), along with Zerbster Straße, provides the central supply of many retail outlets in Dessau’s city centre. Household goods for every need were offered until the end of the 1980s in the “Haushelfer”, a speciality shop for furnishings. The functional shop and residential building was built in the 1970s as part of the redevelopment programme for the town centre.

As part of the comprehensive redevelopment of Kavalierstrasse, the forecourt of the building complex was redesigned and upgraded in 2019 with water features as well as planting and seating elements. A restaurant on the ground floor complements the tranquil area in a special way.

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Kavalierstr. 73 ​

Museum crossing

The intersection of Askanische Strasse and Kavalierstrasse, which was renovated and redesigned in the 1970s, is known as the Museum Crossing because of the Museum of Natural History and Prehistory located there. The Museum of Natural History with its 40 metre high neo-Renaissance tower, which is considered a Dessau landmark, was built in 1748-1750 as the Leopolddankstift for war veterans. Maximilian, the son of Old Dessau’s Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau, initially had the building constructed with a smaller tower. Over time, it underwent several structural changes. After the monastery moved, the building was converted into an art gallery in 1903 and became a museum in 1927.

The former Konsument department stores’ at the top left of the picture is now the site of the second large shopping centre in the city centre. The Dessau Centre was opened in May 2009. The special roof design is reminiscent of Hugo Junkers with its wing construction.

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Ratsgasse 12

Ratsgasse

Ratsgasse is a pedestrianised area in the heart of the city that connects the two main shopping streets Kavalierstraße and Zerbster Straße. Since 2019, the Dessau Tourist Information Centre has been the central point of contact for guests and residents of the city. The beautifully designed niches in Ratsgasse offer a place to linger and are a cosy venue for small cultural events.

The elongated block to the left of Ratsgasse, the so-called “Scheibe Nord”, was the first modern apartment block in Dessau when it opened in 1965 and the longest prefabricated building in the GDR at the time. It is considered an example of ideologically motivated urban redevelopment. At the rear of the building, the flat entrances can be reached via arcades. The principle developed by the Bauhaus for the arcade houses in Dessau-Süd was adopted here. The combination of residential and commercial areas was given a modern design.

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Ratsgasse 12

Formerly Romanjuk-Platz / Dessau Town Hall Centre

Before the bombing in the Second World War, this area was a lively and densely built-up residential and business district in the heart of the city. With the removal of the ruins, a central square was created, named after the first Soviet city commander of Dessau, Colonel Romanjuk. From then on, the central, open square was used for parades, fairs and circus events.

In 1990, the Massa retail chain erected temporary halls, which were very popular. The Rathaus-Center, Dessau’s largest shopping centre with over 30,000 square metres of retail space, has stood on this site since 1994.

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Nantegasse/Lange Gasse

Zerbster Straße / Marketplace

The historic centre of Dessau is located here at the “Kleiner Markt” (now Zerbster Straße), where the market rights and the first documentary mention date back to 1213. The buildings changed over the course of time. The town hall, inaugurated in 1901 and the seat of the city administration, characterises the image of this central square.

For decades, the area in front of the town hall has been a meeting point for regional retailers and is therefore known as the market square. The square is not only transformed into an event area with weekly, regional and Advent markets. With the installation of the “Garden Dream Lounge”, an oasis of well-being has been created from May to October with seating elements and colourful planting. Here, visitors are invited to linger, relax, unwind and enjoy cultural events.

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Nantegasse/Lange Gasse

Castle Square / St Mary's Church

Schloßplatz – formerly known as Großer Markt – is part of the oldest town centre. It was the site of a Romanesque fieldstone church dating back to the founding of the settlement around 1180. St Mary’s Church, built in its current form from 1506, is the oldest building in the town and serves as the burial place for the princes and dukes of Anhalt-Dessau. It fell victim to bombing during the Second World War. The ruins were rebuilt between 1989 and 1998 in the original North German late Gothic brick style.

The statue in front of the building depicts Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau, also known as “Old Dessau”. As a former Protestant sacred building, St. Mary’s Church is now the city’s event and cultural centre. Dieter Hallervorden founded the Central German Theatre here in 2022.

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Kavalierstr. / Main Post Office

Water castle Roßlau

The oldest building elements of the moated castle of Roßlau in the northern part of the twin town date back to the 12th century. In the 14th century, the castle came into the possession of the Princes of Anhalt-Zerbst. This was followed by an eventful history of the building as a princely residence, later devastation and fires, then reconstruction, various uses as an administrative centre, prison, zoo and family home.

Since 2004, extensive renovation and safety measures have been carried out to restore this cultural centre of the town of Roßlau. Every year, the picturesque backdrop of this castle complex is transformed into a venue for numerous events such as the Castle Theatre Summer, Ska Festival, Medieval Spectacle and Advent Market.

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Kavalierstr. / Main Post Office

Tenant house

The tenant’s house is the oldest house in Dessau-Ziebigk, originally a separate village that was incorporated as a district in the 1920s. The tenant’s house was built in 1743 as part of an estate created a year earlier by Prince Moritz, a son of Old Dessau’s Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau. It is also the only surviving half-timbered house from that period in the town.

The tenant’s house was increasingly left to decay after 1945 until it was thoroughly reconstructed and renovated in 2000/2001. Located directly opposite the Ziebigker Christuskirche church, the historic half-timbered house has since had changing tenants for a stylish, upmarket restaurant.

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St John's Church

Poststrasse

Poststraße was created in the 18th century as an access road from Zerbster Straße to the then “Neustadt”, the area around Johannisstraße, Stiftstraße and Ferdinand-von-Schill-Straße. The name goes back to the original post office in Zerbster Straße on the corner of today’s Poststraße. Part of the city wall with the remains of a medieval defence tower had to give way to the construction of the street. In other towns, the post office can also be found in Poststaße. There was never a post office building in Dessauer Poststaße, but the town’s first district savings bank was built in 1923.

After its destruction in the Second World War, it was rebuilt until 1956, demolished in 1996 and rebuilt as the headquarters of the Dessau City Savings Bank, opening in 1998. The new building also reflects the old defence tower.

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St John's Church

St. Mary's Church Roßlau

Lidiceplatz (formerly Karlsplatz) and the neighbouring residential area in the north of the city are home to lavishly renovated original buildings from the early 1900s, where the city expanded rapidly in the course of industrialisation with rental flat and villa districts. Entire streets were saved from demolition in the 1990s. They have now been restored to their former beauty and are now a popular residential neighbourhood.

On Lidiceplatz, the two artists Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill are immortalised as bronze figures, with a bronze ball between them bearing the multilingual inscription “Threepenny Opera”. In 1997, the world’s first memorial to the composer was unveiled in Kurt Weill’s hometown of Dessau. The Kurt Weill Festival commemorates the city’s famous son every year.

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Ferdinand-von-Schill-Str. / Johannisstr.

Antoinettenstrasse / Prince Leopold Carrée

Dessau’s bus station had been located at this site in Antoinettenstraße since the early 1960s. The transition to the main railway station and connection to the tram was made difficult by the relatively long distance. After 1990, the distances were shortened by concentrating all transport facilities on the station forecourt.

After two years of construction, the Fürst-Leopold-Carreé, a residential and business centre at Dessau main station, was opened on the open space of the former bus station in June 1994. The largest part of the building complex is the Radisson Blu “Fürst Leopold” hotel.

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