Architecture as Peacework: The First Goetheanum, Dornach, 1914: The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner

At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the construction of the singular architectural masterwork that would later be called the Goetheanum (and, later still, the First Goetheanum) was already well under way on a hill just above the village of Dornach in neutral Switzerland. There, a small international community had gathered over the previous year to take part in this utterly unique artistic building project under Rudolf Steiner’s direction. When the war began, the mood and day-to-day life of Europe was instantly changed, no less so amid this ad hoc spiritual and artistic community: artillery could be heard in the distance; many were called back to their respective countries for armed service; and tensions between individuals of various nationalities who remained in Dornach were very soon in evidence. This is the immediate background to these evening lectures given in the woodworking building next to the construction site in Dornach just two months after the start of the war.