WOMEN’S WORK – WOMEN’S EVERYDAY LIVES – WOMEN’S RIGHTS
NEW EXHIBITION AT THE TEACHERS' HOUSE FROM 13 SEPTEMBER
Petra Flemming: Women, panel painting, 1973–1974, Flemming estate, C. Flemming (CC-Sa 3.0)
From 13 September 2026, Open Monuments Day, the association baudenkmal bundesschule bernau will be hosting the exhibition ‘Women’s Work – Women’s Everyday Life – Women’s Rights’ by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) at its premises in the Teachers' house at Hannes-Meyer-Campus 9 in Bernau-Waldfrieden.
The exhibition will thus be on display at a venue whose own history is closely linked to the trade union movement: For over four decades, trade union work was carried out here and trade unionists were trained – initially at the FDGB’s ‘Theodor Leipart’ Trade Union School (1947–1951), and subsequently at the ‘Fritz Heckert’ Trade Union College (1952–1989). The exhibition thus forges a direct link between the site’s historical use and questions concerning women’s work, everyday life and rights won through trade union struggle – issues that remain relevant to this day.
Funding for the ‘Invisible Bauhaus Collective’
The Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung and Sparkasse Barnim are supporting an exhibition on the Bernau Trade Union School
Volkmar Grätsch handing over the grant notification to Friedemann Seeger (Chairman of the Board) and Dr Anja Guttenberger (Treasurer and Curator), © Torsten Stapel, 2026
On 6 August 2026, Volkmar Grätsch, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Barnim, presented the association ‘baudenkmal bundesschule bernau e. V.’ with the grant notification for the exhibition ‘The Invisible Bauhaus Collective’ on behalf of the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung.
The ADGB Trade Union School was designed, built and fitted out by a Bauhaus collective that has remained ‘invisible’ to the public to this day. The exhibition reconstructs the names and contributions of those who jointly created the building. The focus is on Bernau as a laboratory for practical Bauhaus teaching, in which architectural planning, all trades and design interlocked seamlessly: from the site management by Hermann Bunzel and Arieh Sharon, through Wera Meyer-Waldeck’s plans for the interior fit-out, to Anni Albers’ shimmering silver wall hanging for the auditorium and Marcel Breuer’s illuminated shaving mirror. This completes the history of the Trade Union School – and documents the building not merely as the work of a single individual, Hannes Meyer, but as a collective achievement of many.
The notification regarding the exhibition was received by the curator and the association’s treasurer, Dr Anja Guttenberger, and the chairman of the board, Friedemann Seeger. At the end of 2026, Bäßler Verlag will also publish the accompanying book for the exhibition (funded by the Baudenkmal Bundesschule Bernau Foundation).
Exhibition "Denkmalpflege als Chance"
Opens on 12 June at Krafthaus of Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow
Can something new emerge from what already exists – whilst becoming visibly more aesthetic, sustainable and fit for the future? The special exhibition ‘Denkmalpflege als Chance’ provides a convincing answer to this question.
The baudenkmal bundesschule bernau association is now presenting its exhibition at the Ofen- und Keramikmuseum Velten. On display are multi-award-winning projects by the Berlin-based architectural practice BRENNE ARCHITEKTEN, which has been a pioneer in the renovation of existing buildings for decades.
Dates: 8 August 2026 – 13 September 2026
Where? Velten Stove and Ceramics Museum, Wilhelmstraße 32/33, 16727 Velten
When? Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am–5 pm
Support us!
We are happy about any support! Whether donation or membership, any help is welcome in our association. If you wish, we can issue a donation receipt for your company or private cause. Please contact us by e-mail at verein@bauhaus-denkmal-bernau.de or donate directly to our account: baudenkmal bundesschule bernau e.V. / IBAN: DE44 1705 2000 3000 0340 04 / BIC: WELADED1GZE.
Help us to realize projects and continue to explore the Bauhaus World Heritage in Bernau!
Bauhaus Architectures and Daylight Studies
Expert article by Ute Poerschke
Figure 3a: Detail of the third competition board. Solar geometry for the day of the summer solstice. Source: Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
Walking through the UNESCO World Heritage building of the General German Trade Union Federation (ADGB) in Bernau, one can observe how beautiful the interior rooms connect with the surrounding nature and how beautiful the daylight illuminates the rooms in many different facets. Most spectacular can this be experienced in the dining hall with its restored glass building blocks integrated in the ceiling and the diagonal corner view into the woods. These daylight qualities are no accident, as the Bauhaus intensively studied daylight in architecture. The ADGB-School not only served as an experimentation field but turns out to be a masterpiece with extraordinary daylight situations. In no other project did the Bauhaus grapple so comprehensively with daylight ideas.
