Weimar: Haus Hohe Pappeln

1906 – 1907

Architect: Henry van de Velde

Belvederer Allee 58, Weimar, Germany

Haus Hohe Pappeln is the former residence of Belgian architect and designer Henry van de Velde. It is now open to the public.

Currently undergoing renovations, the house will reopen in the summer of 2027.

Background

In 1902, the Belgian architect and designer Henry van de Velde came to Weimar at the invitation of Harry Graf Kessler and Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche.

Van de Velde and his family initially moved into a rented apartment on Cranachstraße in the Silberblick residential district, only a few hundred meters from Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche’s villa.

After the apartment became too small for his growing family, van de Velde had the Hohe Pappeln country house built according to his designs at Belvederer Allee 58 from 1906 to 1907.

Van de Velde initially set up his Arts and Crafts Seminar (founded October 15, 1902) and his private studios in the precursor of the Prellerhaus Studio Building in Weimar (later designed by Walter Gropius in Dessau).

He was commissioned by Grand Duke Wilhelm-Ernst of Saxony-Weimar to advise Thuringian craftsmen on design.

In 1908, van de Velde founded the Grossherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstgewerbeschule Weimar, which was financed by Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.

Van de Velde was its director until its closure in 1915.

Haus Hohe Pappeln

The villa is located on the west side of Belvedere Avenue, adjacent to an area of tall poplar trees.

A traffic circle for carriages led to the house’s entrance.

An anteroom with a staircase leading to the private rooms on the upper floor preceded the salon, which served as a parlor, music salon, and boudoir.

Sliding doors from the salon led to the master’s study and the dining room. A staircase from the dining room led directly to the garden.

The kitchen was located in the basement.

Van de Velde designed the exterior of his house based on the interior structure and function of the rooms.

Interiors

Van de Velde designed everything himself, from the wall color and fixtures to the furniture, fabrics, and ceramics, and coordinated them all harmoniously. Guided by the aesthetics of modern industry, he designed according to principles of practicality.

When van de Velde left the country, the original furniture of the house went with him.

The furniture currently on display was designed by van de Velde in 1904 for the Weimar apartment of journalist and playwright Max von Münchhausen.

The study’s functional fixtures and textile elements were reconstructed in 2015 according to historical models.

Since 2023, replicas of the original furniture have also been in the living hall.

Garden

From the beginning of the planning process, the garden was an integral part of the overall concept.

Each façade was assigned a different area: The street side had an ornamental garden with fruit trees; the south side had an open space with a fountain; and in front of the house’s utility rooms was a kitchen garden with a greenhouse.

The garden features a fountain with a kneeling youth sculpture by Georg Minne.

1917

Henry van de Velde lived in the Hohe Pappeln house with his wife and five children until 1917.

In 1919, the house was acquired by Anna Reichenheim, the widow of a banker, who sold it in 1925 to Heinrich Bichmann and his wife.

In 1938, the Evangelical Church of Thuringia acquired the house and made it available to the German Christians under the leadership of Siegfried Leffler.

After Leffler escaped in 1945, the house changed hands many times in the following years and underwent frequent rebuilding.

Renovation and Restoration

The house was listed as a historic monument in 1985. From 1990 to 1994, it was renovated according to the preservation order.

The Klassik Stiftung Weimar owns the house.

The house is undergoing renovations again. It is expected to reopen in the summer of 2027.