The Belgian-Flemish painter, architect and art reformer Henry van de Velde (1863 - 1957) was the founder of the School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, the predecessor of the Bauhaus. In 1926, van de Velde established L'École de la Cambre, the "Belgian Bauhaus", a school for architecture, fine and applied arts in Brussels, which he directed until 1936.
Haus Schulenburg in Gera was one of his masterpieces. Henry van de Velde built it in 1913/1914 as a home for the family of the successful textile manufacturer, orchid grower and art collector Paul Schulenburg.
Impressed by van de Velde's dining room furniture, which Paul Schulenburg had already acquired in 1906, he commissioned the Belgian genius to build his house. It was completed in 1914. The entire interior, including the wallpaper and furniture right down to the cutlery, as well as the park, was designed by van de Velde.
The restoration of Haus Schulenburg and the 7,500 m² park in the years 1996 - 2017 and the repatriation of original furniture and oil paintings, some of which were scattered around the world, was honored with the Thuringian Prize for Monument Protection in 2012 and the German Prize for Monument Protection in 2019.
In today's Museum of the House of Schulenburg With around 100 pieces, one of the most extensive collections of van de Velde's book designs outside of the Royal Library in Brussels, which manages van de Velde's estate, is on display. The exhibition is complemented by works of art from van de Velde's intellectual environment in Europe and from the "Weimar Cosmos".
Changing exhibitions focus on the art of the 20th century and contemporary art.
A cabaret stage and rooms for VIP seminars and weddings allow the Gesamtkunstwerk to be used in a variety of ways. The old spacious garage for Schulenburg's "Maybach" and the "Mercedes" is now home to the cafeteria.
The park impresses with 100-year-old lime trees and yew hedges, a magnificent pergola entwined with roses and planting based on the historical model.
Open spaces and terraces invite you to linger and can be used for open-air events.
A large parking lot with an electric charging station is right next door.