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GRASSI Museum

year of construction / construction time 1925 — 1929
architect Hans Voigt, Carl William Zweck

year of construction / construction time 1998
architect David Chipperfield, Julian Harrap

year of construction / construction time 2000 — 2005
architect Architekturbüro Ilg Friebe Nauber

building typology

Also known as: Museums in the GRASSI (GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts, Ethnographic Museum Leipzig, Museum of Musical Instruments)

Leipzig’s Grassi Museum is a total work of art of the modernist era. New Objectivity and Art Deco, palace building traditions and the Bauhaus all converge in a unique way in this building ensemble. As one of the few museums built in the Weimar Republic, the imposing edifice was completed between 1925 and 1929 in Leipzig’s inner city, based on designs by the architectural firm of Zweck & Voigt. Municipal planning director Hubert Ritter supervised the construction. And Bauhaus Master Josef Albers designed unique stained glass windows for the front of the museum.

The museum complex – which bears the name of the merchant Franz Dominic Grassi, whose bequest funded construction of the predecessor building – actually unites three museums under one roof: the Museum of Applied Arts, Museum of Ethnology and the Museum of Musical Instruments. With its greened inner courtyards and gardens, the large and noble building complex is reminiscent of a palace. Its architecture is clearly distinguished by stylistic elements of the New Objectivity, making the addition of ornamental Art Deco details unusual and unexpected. These touches give articulation to the reddish porphyry stone on the façades and are especially apparent in the swanky element, referred to colloquially as the “Golden Pineapple”, that crowns the central roof. Inside, the Art Deco influence is most clearly evident in the “Pillared Hall”, so named because of its triangular room dividers. It is designed entirely in the style of Art Deco, from its diamond-patterned parquet flooring and the glamorous blue, red and gold colouring right up to the decorative light fittings.

The main staircase prominently features 18 windows, up to 7 metres high, based on designs made in 1926 by Bauhaus Master Josef Albers. The renowned stained glass workshop “Puhl & Wagner, G. Heinersdorff” faithfully replicated the multi-layered, flashed-glass windows. The clear contours, varied light effects and striking use of black elements combine to make the windows a total work of abstract art.

Albers’s glass windows did not survive the air raids of the Second World War, which caused severe damage throughout the museum. After many years of provisional use, the Grassi Museum was extensively refurbished between 2001 and 2005. The restoration was finally completed in 2011 with the faithful reconstruction of Josef Albers’s windows of hand-blown glass. [KM/DK]

Address

GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst
Johannisplatz 5-11
04103 Leipzig

Opening hours

Monday : closed
Christmas Eve : closed
New Years Eve : closed
Tuesday : 10:00 — 18:00 Uhr
Wednesday : 10:00 — 18:00 Uhr
Thursday : 10:00 — 18:00 Uhr
Friday : 10:00 — 18:00 Uhr
Saturday : 10:00 — 18:00 Uhr
Sunday : 10:00 — 18:00 Uhr

Directions by local public transport:

STRASSENBAHN:
Linien 4, 7, 12, 15 Haltestelle Johannisplatz

Directions by car:

Das Grassimuseum befindet sich am östlichen Rand der Innenstadt, ca. 300 m
vom Augustusplatz (Gewandhaus/Oper) entfernt.

ZU FUSS:
ab Hauptbahnhof 15 Minuten Fußweg bzw. ab Augustusplatz 5 Minuten Fußweg

PKW:
Parkhäuser am Gutenbergplatz, am Augustusplatz, in der Querstraße;
Parkplätze am Täubchenweg, Inselstraße, Dresdner Straße, Talstraße und Salomonstraße
Parkhaus Augustusplatz und von dort zu Fuß (siehe oben)

Duisburg
Lehmbruck Museum
- developed for tourism

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Extraordinary sites associated with the Bauhaus and modernism can be found throughout Germany—pioneering architecture that has enduringly shaped our understanding of life and work, learning and living. This travel guide brings the historical and architectural traces of over 100 examples of Neues Bauen building to life, making tangible the impact of the historical Bauhaus beyond the school, its sites and its time.

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