Guided Tours

Our Guided Tour Offers

Hellerau is home to the first German garden city, which, together with the Festspielhaus and the Deutsche Werkstätten, forms a unique triad of work, life and art. The Festspielhaus was built in 1911 to a design by architect Heinrich Tessenow. With its clarity and functional structure, the building set the trend for modernism and was a visionary alternative to traditional theater buildings.

Today, HELLERAU - European Centre for the Arts harks back to the theater's heyday from 1911 to 1914. The interdisciplinary co-production and guest performance venue offers around 350 events a year in the genres of dance, music, theater, performance, media art and visual arts.

Based on the ideas of social reform at the beginning of the 20th century, the first German garden city was intended to harmoniously combine living and working, education and culture. A great idea. A social synthesis of the arts. Living and working in harmony.

What is left of it over 100 years later? Where does the myth live on? In the stories of the residents? In their way of life? In the architecture, the urban space? And what does a good life mean to us today? What about our work-life balance? Rhythmic balance? Balancing on the edge? Or free falling with every step?

Guided by a voice, the audience - equipped with mp3 players and headphones - explores the winding paths and architectural testimonies of the neighbourhood. In search of their own BALANCE, the participants encounter the individual stories of the residents, talking garden fences and the sounds of the neighbourhood that set the pace.

The mp3 players and headphones can be borrowed from the visitor centre during the opening hours listed below.

All information at a glance

Duration: approx. 1 hr. 30 min.
Issue of mp3 players: Visitor Centre HELLERAU in the West side building (Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 56, 01109 Dresden)
Latest distribution time: 2 hours before the visitor centre closes
Starting point: at the main entrance to the Festspielhaus
Cost: 6/4 euros, plus 20 euros deposit for the mp3 players in cash
Route information: approx. 3 km, moderate walking pace
The audio walk is not barrier-free.

For "emergencies" regarding route guidance, please contact the visitor centre on 0351 264 62 46.

Opening hours:
Mon closed
Tue, Thu, Fri 11am - 6pm
Wed 11am - 4pm
Sat 1pm - 6pm
Sun/Public holiday (01/04 - 31/10) 11am - 4pm

Please note: The Visitor Centre will be closed during the summer break from July 11 to August 11. The audio tour will not be available during this time.

BALANCE is a co-production of STUDIO URBANISTAN and HELLERAU - European Centre for the Arts. Funded by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony. This program is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.

An audio walk about upheavals, new beginnings and empty spaces

The 1990s in Hellerau. After decades of military use under two dictatorships, the Festspielhaus—once a beacon of splendor—now stands in the area, in a state of disrepair. Behind the long-sealed walls, amid the stench of old diesel, in dilapidated rooms, and under a leaky roof, however, a free space for artistic experimentation is emerging.

And today? What do the ’90s tell us about social change and empowerment? About spaces of possibility in art? What do people remember, what stories are recorded, and what is already utopia?

Armed with Walkmans and headphones, the audience embarks on a one-hour audio walk through the grounds of the Festspielhaus—exploring architectural layers, personal experiences, and secret traces in the cracks of the walls. Along the way, original sound bites blend with documentary material and acoustic visions to form a mixtape about today and tomorrow. Where does the cassette crackle? Where does the tape skip? What do we record over and what do we record anew? Until the cassette clicks.

The mp3 players/walkman and headphones can be borrowed from the visitor centre during the opening hours listed below.

All information at a glance

Duration: approx. 1 hr. 30 min.
Issue of mp3 players/walkman: Visitor Centre HELLERAU in the West side building (Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 56, 01109 Dresden)
Latest distribution time: 2 hours before the visitor centre closes
Starting point: in the foyer in front of the visitor centre
Cost: 6/4 euros, plus 20 euros deposit for the mp3 players in cash
Route information: approx. 3 km, moderate walking pace
The audio walk is not barrier-free.

For "emergencies" regarding route guidance, please contact the visitor centre on 0351 264 62 46.

Opening hours:
Mon closed
Tue, Thu, Fri 11am - 6pm
Wed 11am - 4pm
Sat 1pm - 6pm
Sun/Public holiday (01/04 - 31/10) 11am - 4pm

Please note: The Visitor Centre will be closed during the summer break from July 11 to August 11. The audio tour will not be available during this time.

"Spulen" is a co-production of STUDIO URBANISTAN and HELLERAU - European Centre for the Arts. Funded by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony and the Schulze-Fielitz Foundation, Berlin

Upcoming Guided Tours

The Garden City of Hellerau under National Socialism

Guided Tour with Claudia Dietze and Robert Badura

13.09.2026

Guided ToursTalkGuided Tours

Voices from History

Nancy Spero (1926–2009) on her 100th birthday

19.09.2026

Guided ToursFilmTalk

Jewish Life in the Gartenstadt

Guided bicycle tour with Claudia Dietze and Robert Badura

26.09.2026

Guided ToursTalkFragments of Life and Art

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Our Guided Tour Offers

Public Guided Tours

Guided tours for groups (on request)

Guided tour for schools (on request)

Information about discounts

Contact for registrations on public holidays

An audio walk about upheavals, new beginnings and empty spaces

All information at a glance

Guided Tours through the Garden City Hellerau (on request)

Combined tour of the Garden City of Hellerau and the Festspielhaus (on request)

Thematic special tours (on fixed dates)

Information about discounts

Registration via

Discover HELLERAU

Spulen

An audio walk about upheavals, new beginnings, and voids

STUDIO URBANISTAN

BALANCE

An audio walk through the garden city

STUDIO URBANISTAN