1. The Visionary Alliance: Osthaus Meets Van de Velde
Karl Ernst Osthaus was an extraordinary figure in modern European history. Believing that capitalism had alienated industrial laborers from spiritual beauty, Osthaus decided to construct a museum that would display the world's most daring contemporary art directly across from coal mines and steel blast furnaces.
In 1900, Osthaus traveled to Berlin and met Henry van de Velde. The two men formed an instant, lifelong friendship. Osthaus immediately dismissed the historicist architect who was designing his museum building and appointed Van de Velde to design the interior architecture of the Museum Folkwang in Hagen.
Van de Velde created an interior of astonishing clarity: white walls, exposed iron trusses, custom display vitrines, and curved brass railings. When Museum Folkwang opened in 1902, it was the first museum on earth to display works by Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse.
“Osthaus was a prince of modern culture... He understood that in the coal smoke of the Ruhr valley, art was not a bourgeois luxury, but a desperate human necessity.”
— Henry van de Velde, Geschichte meines Lebens
2. Hohenhof (1906–1908): The Master Country Estate
In 1906, Osthaus commissioned Van de Velde to build his private residence, Hohenhof, on a high hill overlooking Hagen.
Conceived as a complete *Gesamtkunstwerk*, Hohenhof was executed in rough-hewn local Westphalian sandstone and dark blue-glazed roof tiles:
The Sandstone Masonry Exterior
Van de Velde utilized local quarry stones laid in irregular ashlar courses. The massive gables, deep-set casement windows, and sweeping garden terraces anchor the villa into the hillside like a medieval defensive keep reinterpreted as a modern sanctuary.
The Henri Matisse Ceramic Tile Mural
In the winter garden of Hohenhof, Osthaus and Van de Velde commissioned French master Henri Matisse to create a monumental ceramic tile triptych: Nymphe et Faune (Nymph and Faun), seamlessly embedded into Van de Velde's architectural wall tiles.
The Music Salon & Piano Bench
Van de Velde designed the acoustic paneling, hand-woven carpets, and custom seating—including variants of the famous 1902 Maria van de Velde piano bench—creating an intimate chamber for private recitals.
3. The Hohenhagen Artist Colony & Peter Behrens
Hohenhof was intended to be only the first house of a grand planned garden city and artist colony: Gartenstadt Hohenhagen.
Osthaus and Van de Velde invited leading progressive designers to build prototype residences along the Stirnband avenue:
- Peter Behrens designed several iconic villas in Hohenhagen (Villa Cuno and Villa Schröder), testing the geometric neoclassical discipline that later informed his AEG Turbine Factory.
- J.L.M. Lauweriks, the Dutch geometrician and mystic, established an architecture workshop applying sacred proportion systems.
- The German Werkbund Alliance: The creative cross-pollination between Van de Velde, Behrens, and Osthaus in Hagen directly catalyzed the founding of the Deutscher Werkbund in Munich in 1907.
Frequently Asked Questions on Hagen and Hohenhof
Why is the famous Museum Folkwang now in Essen instead of Hagen?
Following Karl Ernst Osthaus’s untimely death in 1921 at age 46, his heirs were unable to maintain the museum. In 1922, the neighboring industrial city of Essen purchased Osthaus's entire art collection and transferred it to Essen, where Museum Folkwang thrives today. The original museum building in Hagen remains an active cultural institution: the Osthaus Museum Hagen.
How do I travel to Hohenhof in Hagen?
Hohenhof is located at Springemannstraße 66 in Hagen-Emst. From Hagen Central Station (Hagen Hauptbahnhof), take Bus 515 or 521 toward Emst/Hohenhagen to the stop 'Hohenhof', followed by a three-minute walk along the wooded Stirnband avenue.