As UNESCO explained in its official justification, the Bauhaus ('House of Building' or 'Building School'), with its sites in Weimar (Thuringia) and Dessau (Saxony-Anhalt), represents the so-called 'Bauhaus school of architecture' which, between 1919 and 1933, applied revolutionary ideas to building design and town planning. The school's professors (Walter Gropius, Hannes Meyer, Lazlo Moholy-Nagy and Wassily Kandinsky) founded the Bauhaus style, which made an important mark on the architecture of the 20th century.

Despite its name, and the fact that the founders were architects, the Bauhaus did not have an architecture department during its first years of existence. However, it was founded with the idea of generating a 'total' work of art in which all arts, including architecture, would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus style became one of the most influential trends in Modernist architecture and modern design.

The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography. Since 2007 the buildings have been renovated in Dessau and a permanent exhibition shows the history of the famous 'School of Design'.

In 2017, Bauhaus locations at Bernau and Dessau-Rosslau were also added to this UNESCO World Heritage Site. They can be visited all year round via guided tours.