a city in the Halle District of the German Democratic Republic on the Mulde River near its junction with the Elbe. Population, 97,800 (1970). A railroad junction, it has an inland harbor at Wallwitzhafen on the Elbe. The machine-building industry comprises the production of cement and mining equipment, refrigerator cars, and river ships. Other industries include the electrical technology, instrument-making, chemical, woodworking, and food (including sugar) industries. The Vockerode Thermoelectric Power Plant is located near the city.
Dessau was laid out and built up in the classical style of the 18th and early 19th century. The ducal castle (1530-88) was rebuilt in the 18th century by the architects G. W. Knobelsdorff and F. W. Erdmannsdorff. The latter also constructed the palaces of Luisium (1774) and Georgium (1780), a greenhouse (1793), theaters, and dwellings. In the 1920’s, W. Gropius built the Bauhaus complex in Dessau (1925-26). and the Tórten residential district (1926-28). Destroyed in 1944-45, Dessau has been entirely rebuilt. Museums include the State Gallery (painting and graphic arts) and the Mosigkau Palace (18th-century culture).