Weissenhof Estate Is Awarded the European Heritage Label

On March 31, 2020, the Werkbund estates in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria were awarded the European Heritage Label by the European Commission.

This honor recognized five modern building ensembles that had been created in the context of exhibitions, thus revolutionizing architecture and the way people live around the world:

• Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart, created in 1927 in the context of the Werkbund exhibition The Dwelling
• Nový Dům Werkbund Estate, created in Brno in 1928
• Wrocław Werkbund Estate, created in 1929 in the context of the Werkbund exhibition WUWA, Living and Working Spaces
• Vienna-Lainz Werkbund Estate, created in 1932
• Baba Werkbund Estate in Prague, created in 1932.

The network also includes the Neubühl Werkbund Estate that was created in Zurich between 1930 and 1932, which as a Swiss ensemble was not eligible for the award.

Creation of a Network of Werkbund Estates

In 2011 a delegation from Wrocław visited the estate in Stuttgart to gather ideas from the Friends of the Weissenhof Estate for the renovation of their estate. This was the beginning of an intense exchange and a quickly growing network. In 2012 exhibitions were held in Wrocław and Stuttgart, each on the estate of their partner. In 2013 the city of Stuttgart invited representatives from all six Werkbund estates to a meeting in which it was decided that they would apply for the European Heritage Label as a group. Further meetings followed in the participating cities. The collective exhibition A Way to Modernity: Werkbund Estates 1927–1932 in Wrocław, the European Capital of Culture in 2016, was the culmination of this collaboration.

It is with great pleasure for the parties involved to announce that the influential Werkbund estates from the 1920s in Europe have been honored with the European Heritage Label and that their commitment to a friendly and professional exchange over borders is now acknowledged.
More information is available at https://werkbund-estates.eu.