Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent city. The population of Dessau is 67,747 (Dec. 2020).

Geography

Dessau is situated on a floodplain where the Mulde flows into the Elbe. This causes yearly floods. The worst flood took place in the year 2002, when the Waldersee district was nearly completely flooded. The south of Dessau touches a well-wooded area called Mosigkauer Heide. The highest elevation is a 110 m high former rubbish dump called Scherbelberg in the southwest of Dessau. Dessau is surrounded by numerous parks and palaces that make it one of the greenest towns in Germany.

History

Dessau was first mentioned in 1213. It became an important centre in 1570, when the Principality of Anhalt was founded. Dessau became the capital of this state within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1603, the state was split into four – later five – Anhalts, Dessau becoming the capital of the mini-state of Anhalt-Dessau. In 1863 two of the noble lines died out, and the Duchy of Anhalt became reunited. From 1918 to 1945, Dessau was the capital of the Free State of Anhalt. Dessau is famous as the second site of the Bauhaus school. It moved here in 1925 after it had been forced to close in Weimar. Many famous artists were lecturers in Dessau in the following years, among them Walter Gropius, Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. The Nazis’ control of Dessau city council forced the closure of the Dessau Bauhaus in 1932. The school moved to Bernau bei Berlin and closed its doors for the last time in 1933. The town was almost completely destroyed by Allied air raids in World War II on 7 March 1945, six weeks before American troops occupied the town. Afterwards, it was rebuilt with typical GDR concrete slab architecture (Plattenbau) and became a major industrial centre of East Germany. Since German reunification in 1990, many historic buildings have been restored. The composer Kurt Weill was born in Dessau. Since 1993, the city has hosted an annual Kurt Weill Festival. Dessau was also the birthplace of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (in 1729), and Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (der alte Dessauer) (on 3 July 1676), a lauded field marshal for the Kingdom of Prussia. In January 2005, Dessau gained notoriety for the mysterious death of a Sierra Leonean convicted drug trafficker and failed asylum seeker, Oury Jalloh.

Sights

Castles and gardens

The Bauhaus

There are several examples of Bauhaus architecture in Dessau, some of which are part of the Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau World Heritage Site. This includes the Bauhaus Dessau school building, designed by Walter Gropius, which is one of the iconic modernist buildings of the 20th century. In addition to the buildings that are part of the World Heritage Site, other notable Bauhaus architecture in Dessau includes:

Churches

Other sights

Culture

Theatres and museums

Regional media

Transport

Public transport

The Dessau tramway network has three lines and is supplemented by numerous bus lines. Dessau's public transport is operated by (DVG), which transports around 6 million people each year.

Railway stations

Dessau Hauptbahnhof (main station) has connections to Magdeburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Halle, Bitterfeld and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The line from Berlin was opened on 1 September 1840. The Dessau-Bitterfeld line (opened on 17 August 1857) was electrified in 1911, the first fully electrified long-distance railway in Germany. Dessau was part of the InterCity long-distance network until the year 2002. Regional trains also stop at the stations Dessau-Süd, Dessau-Alten, Dessau-Mosigkau and Rodleben. The Dessau-Wörlitzer-Eisenbahn (railway) connects Dessau to Wörlitz, a town situated 15 km to the east, and the Wörlitzer Park. The starting point of this railway is the main station. This train also stops at the stations Dessau-Waldersee and Dessau-Adria.

Roads

In 1938 the autobahn A9 (Munich-Berlin) was built southeast of the town area. The two exits to Dessau on the A9 are called Dessau-Ost and Dessau-Süd. Dessau is also crossed by the Bundesstrassen (federal roads) B 184 and B 185.

Airfield

The airfield of Dessau (ICAO: EDAD) is situated northwest of the town between the districts Kleinkühnau, Alten, and Siedlung. A destination with a charter airplane is possible. The runway has a length of 1000 m. The Hugo Junkers Technical Museum is situated in the neighbourhood directly east of the airfield, with the eastern end of the modern runway almost directly abutting the historical World War II Junkers factory airstrip's western end.

Water

Today the Leopoldshafen (harbour) is used for annual international motorboat racing events. The "Wallwitzhafen" is used as a private pleasure boat harbour and the Elbehafen near the Grain House is used for cruisers. The next harbour for goods is situated in Rosslau.

Bikes

Dessau is located in the flat landscape of the Saxon Lowland. The local bike paths have a length of about 146 km and connect all major parks and sights.

Sports

Sports like soccer, cycling, handball, volleyball, gymnastics, table tennis and tennis have a long tradition and are very popular in Dessau. The former soccer team SG Waggonbau Dessau won the GDR soccer cup in 1949. The handball team played in the GDR Oberliga and since 1990 they are playing in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. Currently, Dessau has around 80 sport clubs with over 13,500 members. Next to the traditional sports, Dessau has active sport clubs in the following disciplines: aikido, badminton, basketball, canoeing, chess, climbing, cycling, dancing, fishing, horse riding, karate, judo, jiu-jitsu, motorboat, rowing, speedskating, sailing, skittles, skydiving, squash, swimming, table tennis, water polo, wrestling and others.

Facilities

Governance

The borough of Dessau was first mentioned in 1372. The head of the town of Schultheiss was appointed by the count. Together with a few assessors, the Schultheiss formed the town council. As of 1372, the town council was divided into two agencies, as of 1600 into three agencies, and as of 1785 again into two agencies. The Schultheiss of Dessau changed nearly every year until the town council constitution was cancelled in 1832. Afterwards Dessau became a Town Council and a Town Delegation Constitution. Since 1852 the town leader has the title of mayor. During the National Socialist period the mayor was appointed by the party (NSDAP). After World War II, the Soviets formed an executive council with a mayor. The town council constitution was elected by the people. Since German reunification this committee has been freely elected. Since 1994 it has been called the Stadtrat. Since 1994, the mayor is directly elected by the people. In 2007, Dessau became part of the municipality of Dessau-Roßlau.

Mayor

Peter Kuras (born 1958) was elected mayor of Dessau-Roßlau in June 2014 with 75.82% of the votes for a term of seven years. He is the successor of Klemens Koschig (born 1957, independent), who was elected in 2007 with 56.8% of the votes.

Town Council (Stadtrat)

Consists of the following parties: (Local elections from 25 May 2014)

Town twinning

Dessau is twinned with:

Education

European subsidies

Dessau is part of the EU-URBAN programme. This programme is based on the integrated approach that is used for tackling the environmental, economical and social problems, affecting the deprived urban areas. There are several projects in Dessau sponsored via this subsidy.

Notable people

Academics

Aristocracy and military

Science and philosophy

The arts

Sports

Gallery