Hellerau is a northern quarter ''(Stadtteil)'' in the city of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany, slightly south of Dresden Airport. It was the first garden city in Germany. The northern section of Hellerau absorbed the village of Klotzsche, where some 18th century buildings remain.

Origins

Based on the ideas of

Ebenezer Howard Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication ''To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform'' (1898), the description of a utopian city in whic ...

, businessman

Karl Schmidt-Hellerau Karl Camillo Schmidt-Hellerau (1 February 1873 – 6 November 1948) was a German carpenter, furniture manufacturer and social reformer. He was born in Zschopau, and is notable as the founder of Hellerau Hellerau is a northern quarter ''(Stad ...

founded Hellerau near Dresden in 1909. The idea was to create an organic,

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

. Several well-known architects participated in its construction, including

Richard Riemerschmid Richard Riemerschmid (20 June 1868 – 13 April 1957) was a German architect, painter, designer and city planner from Munich. He was a major figure in ''Jugendstil'', the German form of Art Nouveau, and a founder of architecture in the st ...

, Heinrich Tessenow,

Hermann Muthesius Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius (20 April 1861 – 29 October 1927), known as Hermann Muthesius, was a German architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the English Arts and Crafts movement within German ...

, Kurt Frick, Georg Metzendorf,

Wilhelm Kreis Wilhelm Kreis (17 March 1873 – 13 August 1955) was a prominent German architect and professor of architecture, active through four political systems in German history: the Wilhelmine era, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the found ...

and Bruno Paul. Whilst the concept of Hellerau builds on the first garden city, at Letchworth in the UK, it in turn went on to influence other similar developments elsewhere. Specifically, the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

architect Rafael Masó i Valentí visited Hellerau in 1912, and went on to build the garden community at

S'Agaró s'Agaró () is an upmarket resort on the Costa Brava between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Platja d'Aro. It is part of the municipality of Castell-Platja d'Aro, itself in the comarca of Baix Empordà and province of Girona in Catalonia, Spain. Th ...

on the

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Whilst sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava, it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeast ...

in Spain. Hellerau attracted cultural visionaries from all over Europe. Among them were

Émile Jaques-Dalcroze Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (6 July 1865 – 1 July 1950) was a Swiss composer, musician, and music educator who developed Dalcroze eurhythmics, an approach to learning and experiencing music through movement. Dalcroze eurhythmics influenced Carl O ...

, composer, and Mary Wigman, choreographer. Until the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

annual festivals attracted further members of the progressive elite of the time. In 1921, the educator A. S. Neill founded the school which would later, after its relocation to

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset– Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the He ...

, become

Summerhill Summerhill or Summer Hill may refer to the following places: Australia *Summer Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Summerhill, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston * Summerhill (Mount Duneed), a prefabricated iron cottage in Victoria Canada * ...

. With the establishment of the National Socialist (

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

) government in Germany in 1933, the progressive community at Hellerau ended.

Pattern

The development lies on gently sloping ground and is laid out as a series of curvilinear streets, of an overall organic type form. Materials are typically cream rendered walls on a stone base, with red tile roofs and green windows (mainly with shutters). The landscape is dominated by tall conifers. The Deutsche Werkstatten, a large factory involved in the production of craft furniture, played a central role in the function of the community, but geographically lies on its southern edge. Functionally this has been superseded by a modern facility further to the south. The layout physically centres upon a small rectangular market square. Buildings are generally from one storey and attic to three storey, but all adopt a gentle cottage style. The exception to this is the large former water tower, now converted to housing use.

Festspielhaus

To the north-west the Festspielhaus provides a cultural focus. This housed a Rhythmic Gymnastics centre during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The central building here still holds some remnants of its communist past, when it served as a Russian barracks from 1945 until 1989. The building has been restored and is now a base for a dance company. Surrounding buildings are partly restored, with sections also hoped to create a base for resident artists. The community park surrounding the complex, Golgi Park, creates a multi-functional space serving the local community.

Notable residents

(1873-1948) founder of the community * Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950) music teacher and composer *

(1868-1957) architect

References

Official site
* Clemens Galonska, Frank Elstner: ''Gartenstadt Hellerau / Garden City of Hellerau''. Palisander Verlag, 2007, . Copiously illustrated book on Dresden-Hellerau, including a detailed account on the history of Germany's first garden city (German/English). {{Authority control 1909 establishments in Germany Boroughs and quarters of Dresden Garden suburbs Housing in Germany

Origins

Pattern

Festspielhaus

Notable residents

See also

References