The Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart is a residential neighbourhood with an outsized place in architectural history. Built for a 1927 Deutscher Werkbund exhibition, it brought together 17 architects, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius and Hans Scharoun, to explore new approaches to modern housing. Not all the original buildings survive, but the estate remains a compelling record of an experiment that helped shape twentieth-century design.
For many visitors, the highlight is the Le Corbusier House, a semi-detached building designed with Pierre Jeanneret and now home to the Weissenhof Museum. It forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing devoted to Le Corbusier’s work. Inside, exhibitions and restored rooms bring the architects’ ideas to life; outside, the raised structure, ribbon windows and roof terrace make the building an absorbing study in modernist design. The surrounding houses are still lived in, giving the estate a character quite different from a conventional museum district.
Allow time to explore the estate on foot as well as visit the museum, and wear comfortable shoes for Stuttgart’s hilly streets. Check museum opening times before travelling, especially if you hope to join a guided tour. The area is accessible by public transport from central Stuttgart; once there, remember that many of the buildings are private homes.