Europe
(153)
Italy
(45)
Germany
(23)
United Kingdom
(21)
France
(17)
Spain
(12)
Austria
(8)
Czech Republic
(6)
Switzerland
(6)
Greece
(5)
Netherlands
(4)
Slovakia
(4)
Finland
(3)
Portugal
(3)
Hungary
(2)
Albania
(1)
Armenia
(1)
Belgium
(1)
Bulgaria
(1)
Croatia
(1)
Cyprus
(1)
Denmark
(1)
Estonia
(1)
Georgia
(1)
Ireland
(1)
Malta
(1)
Norway
(1)
Poland
(1)
Romania
(1)
Slovenia
(1)
Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[name] => Germany
[parent] => Array
(
[name] => Europe
)
)
[1] => Array
(
[name] => Southern Germany
[parent] => Array
(
[name] => Germany
)
)
)
Building Modern Germany – Bauhaus to the Present - Stuttgart, Ulm and Munich
7
days
from
£3,520
Book today with a deposit of
£528
3rd - 9th August 2027
Tour highlights
- Traces one of the most dramatic narratives in modern architecture: from the utopian idealism of the Bauhaus and Deutscher Werkbund, through their violent suppression under National Socialism, to the democratic spirit of postwar reconstruction and the technical brilliance of the present day.
- Encounters buildings that are inseparable from history: the Weißenhofsiedlung housing estate of 1927, whose centenary falls this year; the Olympic complex of 1972, which rose from mounds of wartime rubble; and the NS-Dokumentationszentrum, which confronts the legacy of the Nazi regime on the very site of the Brown House.
- Stuttgart and Munich are among the wealthiest cities in Germany, and among the most architecturally ambitious — with outstanding new buildings by Herzog & de Meuron, Foster + Partners, Coop Himmelb(l)au and others alongside the great monuments of the 20th century.
- Led by Tom Abbott, architectural historian based in Berlin since 1987, with a particular specialism in the German modern – Bauhaus, Expressionism and beyond.
No European country has, in the last hundred years, experienced a comparable degree of turbulence and reversal of fortune – nor seen the same intensity of innovation, reaction, destruction and renewal. This tour traces that history through architecture, from the utopian ambitions of the Bauhaus to the technically brilliant buildings of the present day, in three of the wealthiest and most architecturally significant cities in southern Germany.
The optimism that followed the First World War produced, in Germany, a search for radical solutions more intense and more mainstream than anywhere else in Europe – and more violently opposed. The Bauhaus and the Deutscher Werkbund were both incubators of the modernism we now see all around us. Both were snuffed out, ideologically and physically, by National Socialism, which imposed an orthodoxy of aggressive Neo-Classicism in their place.
Postwar Germany saw a re-emergence of dynamic modernism in building projects that rose, quite literally, from the ruins. Democratic design principles – openness, lightness, the deliberate avoidance of monumentalism – increasingly informed architecture through the 1950s and 1960s. The Ulm School of Design renewed and furthered Bauhaus ideals; the 1972 Munich Olympics produced some of the most groundbreaking architectural solutions of the century.
Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria remain Germany’s wealthiest regions, and government, businesses and individuals here still see merit in investing in good architecture. The result, across the last two decades, has been a remarkable flowering of new buildings and planning solutions – and a city fabric in which the full sweep of modern architectural history, from heroic idealism to hard - won reconstruction to contemporary ambition, can be read in a single street.
Itinerary
Morning flight from London Heathrow to Stuttgart (British Airways). An introductory walk through the city centre takes us to 1922 Central Station by Paul Bonatz, the vast and controversial construction site of the new station, Stuttgart 21, and the cuboid public library designed by Eun Young Yi (opened 2011). First of two nights in Stuttgart.
Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Hans Scharoun and others contributed to the Weißenhofsiedlung, a 1927 housing estate, a landmark in the development of International Modernism for domestic use, which celebrates its centenary in 2027. Visit two houses by Le Corbusier. The Staatsgalerie is a highly original building by James Stirling; on opening in 1984 it immediately became Germany’s most visited museum. See the excellent collection with major deposits of German modern art.
Tour the former Hochschule für Gestaltung (Ulm School of Design). Founded in 1953 and designed by Max Bill, a Bauhaus student, the school was one of the most progressive of its time and gained international recognition. Ulm’s Neue Mitte (new city centre) has been reclaimed for new architecture on the site of a post-war urban freeway. The new-build Weishaupt Art Gallery houses varied collections from medieval to contemporary. Continue to Munich for the first of four nights there.
Examine the history and legacy of the Nazi regime: the new Documentation Centre of National Socialist History (2015) on the site of the Brown House stands in direct contrast to Third Reich buildings, such as Paul Ludwig Troost’s Führerbau. The afternoon reveals how architecturally and intellectually Munich dealt with the aftermath of wartime destruction through creative reconstruction (Alte Pinakotek, Hans Döllgast), Munich’s first high-rise social housing (Sep Ruf) and façade restoration (19th-century Ludwigstrasse).
The ‘Four-Cylinder’ BMW Headquarters (Karl Schwanzer, 1972) was joined in 2007 by a museum by Austrian firm Coop Himmelb(l)au. Also 1972, the Olympic complex, designed by Frei Otto and Günther Benisch, sprouted from mounds of WWII rubble with the main structures linked by the iconic ‘tent’ roof. Lunch in the Olympic complex is followed by a visit to the Herz-Jesu church by Munich architects Allmann Sattler Wappner, opened in 2000.
Pass through the Marienplatz, dominated by the Neo-Gothic city hall, to Herzog & de Meuron’s 5 Höfe, a quintet of courtyards and passages opening up a historic city block, and Sep Ruf’s Neue Maxburg courthouse and office block, a cautious insertion of 1950s modernism into the historic fabric. Free afternoon – the museums quarter is suggested: Pinakothek der Moderne (Stephan Braunfels 2002), Museum Brandhorst (Sauerbuch Hutton 2009) and the Lenbachhaus (2013 extension by Foster + Partners).
Visit the Ohel Jakob synagogue (Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch 2004–06), its lower part clad in travertine and topped by a glass cube which represents the tent of Moses (Ohel). On the way to the airport, pass the Allianz Arena football stadium designed by Herzog & De Meuron (2005). Arrive London Heathrow c. 6.00pm.
Expert speaker
Mr Tom Abbott
Specialist in architectural history from the Baroque to the 20th century with a wide knowledge of the performing arts. He graduated in Psychology and Art History from Carleton College, Minnesota and studied at the Louvre School of Art History in Paris. Since 1987 he has lived in Berlin and has organised and led many academic tours in Germany. Tom has a particular interest in the German and American architectural and artistic modern including the Bauhaus and Expressionism.
More tours led by Mr Tom Abbott
Practicalities
Two sharing: £3,830 or £3,520 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,470 or £4,160 without flights.
Travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 2 lunches and 4 dinners with wine, water and coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Steigenberger Hotel Graf Zeppelin: a modern, international 5-star hotel excellently situated near to the Schlossgarten Park. Hotel Torbräu, Munich: a friendly, family-run, 4-star hotel in the city centre. Single rooms throughout are doubles for sole use.
Quite a lot of walking is required and standing around is unavoidable. A good level of fitness is necessary. Average distance by coach per day: 32 miles.
Between 10 and 22 participants.
Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website and Travel Health Pro to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting.
Dates & prices
GBP Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn98g5gzesbymtdxskk5r
[published] => 1
[start] => 2027-08-03 00:00:00
[end] => 2027-08-09 00:00:00
[range_type] => Fixed
[version] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn8t9vad8bympy7wrgzdq
[name] => 2027
)
[inventory] => Array
(
[type] => Allocation
[capacity] => 22
[errata] =>
)
[categories] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[name] => Mr Tom Abbott
[description] =>
)
)
[fields] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[__typename] => StringFieldData
[name] => onlinetalk_booking_link
[string] =>
)
[1] => Array
(
[__typename] => StringFieldData
[name] => tb_departure_code
[string] => MN440
)
[2] => Array
(
[__typename] => StringFieldData
[name] => tb_departure_setup_id
[string] => 30513
)
[3] => Array
(
[__typename] => StringFieldData
[name] => tb_link_speakers
[string] => [{"id":49823,"title":"Mr","forename":"Tom","surname":"Abbott","type":"Lecturer"}]
)
)
[elements] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn99gjq8nyy82194p4anh
[element] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn8y7238kt4qx54f4wmd4
[category] => Array
(
[name] => Tour Space
)
[name] => Tour Space
[published] => 1
[is_package] => 1
)
[prices] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn9aj0xbpe3dh5qn8jx1t
[currency] => GBP
[value] => 3520
[on_sale] => 1
[previous_value] =>
[deposit] =>
[option] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn90t4aybnwpj9z9g7qs2
[name] => Tour Space
[category] => Array
(
[name] => Price
)
[constraints] =>
[web_bookable] => 1
[published] => 1
)
)
)
)
[1] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn9av6ndn86ks0ahygf2c
[element] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn93kh1v9szc7y768cm84
[category] => Array
(
[name] => Flights
)
[name] => Flight
[published] => 1
[is_package] => 1
)
[prices] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn9bpm3c04ee3hvv28dqr
[currency] => GBP
[value] => 930
[on_sale] => 1
[previous_value] =>
[deposit] =>
[option] => Array
(
[id] => 01ktsjn969qmx0pfktrf1jdc43
[name] => Price
[category] => Array
(
[name] => Price
)
[constraints] =>
[web_bookable] => 1
[published] => 1
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
3rd - 9th August 2027
Speaker:
Mr Tom Abbott
Price:
from £3,520
(Based on two sharing)Related tours and events
Sign up to our e-newsletter
e-newsletter recipients are the first to hear about our future plans and our tours as they come on sale. By signing up you agree to our Privacy policy.
Or request your free brochure here
My Wishlist
Please note that all saved tours will be removed if you clear your cookies.
Sign up to our e-newsletter
E-newsletter recipients are the first to hear about our future plans and our tours as they come on sale.