Walter Gropius created the Bauhaus building in 1925/26. During the few years of its original use as a school with studios, until it was closed down by the Nazis in 1932, it had also become a centre of crystallization for the creative forces of its times. Today, the Dessau Bauhaus Foundation again makes the famous building, which has been undergoing extensive restoration since 1997, a centre for cultural activities: numerous projects and events at the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Bauhaus' foundation in Weimar (1999) and the EXPO 2000 will provide the building with more public attention. This text documents all phases of the Bauhaus Building's history, use and constructive changes. The authors looks at its meaning for contemporary architecture, culture and politics, and describes its history during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, the GDR and up to the late 1990s. The themes range from the first architectural design to the future of the Bauhaus as a monument.