Photo: Stadt Dessau-RoßlauScientific library in the Dietrich palais, Dessau-RoßlauThe city is known around the world for its pioneering architecture. With the arrival of the Bauhaus in 1925 and 1926, Dessau came to be considered the capital of Modernism. Artists like Walter Gropius, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Lyonel Feininger lived and worked here at that time.

However, the city also has significant ties to the Reformation and Luther. Dessau's princes officially declared their adherence to the Lutheran teachings in 1534; from this point on, Luther regularly appeared as a visiting preacher in St. Mary’s Church in Dessau, where he was very popular. George III of Anhalt-Dessau was ordained as the Bishop of Merseburg in 1545.

Library of Prince George contains a large collection of writings  from the Reformation

He thereby became the only German prince to officially serve as a member of the Lutheran clergy. Following Luther's death, George III acquired hundreds of Luther's letters as well as the complete manuscript of his translation of the Old Testament. The Prince George Library continues to house a nearly complete collection of writings from the Age of the Reformation.