View of the Festspielhaus

Hellerau is a northern quarter in the city of Dresden. It was the first garden city in Germany. Based on the ideas of Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928), businessman Karl Schmidt-Hellerau (1873-1948) founded Hellerau in 1909. The idea was to create an organic, planned community. Several well-known architects participated in its construction, including Richard Riemerschmid.

The development lies on gently sloping ground and is laid out as a series of curvilinear streets of an overall organic type form. Materials are typically cream rendered walls on a stone base, with red tile roofs and green windows (mainly with shutters). The landscape is dominated by tall conifers.

The Deutsche Werkstatten, a large factory involved in the production of craft furniture, played a central role in the function of the community.

The photo shows residential houses at the Festspielhaus, on the north-western edge of the garden city of Hellerau.