In 1776 the Weimar Princely Free Zeichenschule was established, but gradually lost significance after the Grand Ducal Saxon Art School was founded in 1860.

Students were instructed in a variety of artistic subjects, including landscape, historical, portrait and animal painting, and sculpting.

The development of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar was also strongly influenced by the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts which trained artisans in the handicrafts between 1907 and 1915.

It was the making of a new type of art school, a pioneer of modernity, the legacy of which continues to influence the Bauhaus-University Weimar today.

"[4] His "concept of collaboration with the industry"[5] was strongly opposed, not least of all because he was "determined from the very start to beat down any resistance toward this new kind of architecturally related art.

"[6] The increasing equalization of professors and workshop instructors and unbridgeable differences made it impossible "for art to develop freely, without purpose and with no connection to architecture at the Bauhaus.

The Bauhaus sites in Weimar that are part of the World Heritage Site are the main building (formerly the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Fine Art) and the Van de Velde building (formerly the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts) on the Bauhaus University campus, and the Haus am Horn.

[8] After completing their education, graduates received a diploma in the Construction department and the title "Journeyman" or "Master" in their area of handicraft.

In his opinion, it was necessary to preserve the German styles typical of the region, so that people could find identification and orientation in times of rapid social and cultural upheaval.

The well-known artists and instructors of this period include: Hermann Giesler, Hans Seytter (e.g., Stiftskirche, Stuttgart), Walther Klemm, Alexander Olbricht and Hugo Gugg [de].

After World War II, the Soviet Military Administration of Thuringia oversaw the restructuring of the college to reflect antifascist-democratic principles.

Under the aegis of the architect Hermann Henselmann, appointed director in 1946, the college focused its efforts to rebuild the country and pick up where the Bauhaus left off.

In the following decades, the college became one of the leading academic institutions in the field of civil engineering, respected throughout East and West Germany alike.

Because the college was so integrated in the political system of the GDR, the direction of its instruction and research activities was largely dictated by the government for the purpose of carrying out the latest civil engineering tasks.

The well-known artists and instructors of this period include: Walther Klemm and Anita Bach (born 1927, first female professor of architecture in the GDR).

The goal was to quickly adapt the college to the basic principles of freedom and democracy and integrate it into the international community of higher education institutions.

A new chapter began in 1993 with the establishment of the "Faculty of Art and Design" which reincorporated the artistic disciplines into the academic profile of the college.

The term "Bauhaus" in its name stands for eagerness to experiment, openness, creativity, proximity to industrial practice and internationality.

The faculty stands for university-based research and experimental teaching, which imparts interface competencies of artistic and scientific methods in design and planning.

In addition to traditional and modern engineering methods, the faculty also draws from neighboring scientific fields such as law, economics and social sciences.

Following a renovation phase lasting two years, the Faculty of Art and Design returned to the Van de Velde Building in April 2010.

After a four-year construction phase costing 12 million euros, the new university library and an integrated main auditorium were officially opened in 2005, and in 2006, the building was awarded the Thuringian State Prize for Architecture and Urban Planning.