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5 timeless furniture designs from Germany

Meike Krüger eg
November 13, 2018

These five pieces are renowned worldwide, but not everyone knows where they were created. Here are five icons of furniture design made in Germany.

https://p.dw.com/p/38Aek
Möbel Thonet
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Thonet

Many people associate European design with Scandinavian countries like Finland or Denmark, but Germany has also provided a number of remarkable contributions to design history.

The industrialization of work which began by the second half of the 18th century not only led to workers being replaced by machines; it also required designers to develop prototypes for serial production.

A major milestone in German design history came with the Bauhaus School, founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius. Architects, designers, artists and craftsmen experimented with forms and design.

Scandinavian designers would come up with their most famous works only decades later.

Later on in Germany, the Ulm School of Design also had an important influence on the country's output. Designers predominantly used plastic until the 1970s, when the oil crisis put an end to this trend.

When does a good design become a timeless classic that's still sold decades later and whose originals can reach top prices? Some pieces of furniture have such a high quality that they survive all trends and wear. They are one-of-a-kind pieces that can add style to any interior.