'Blaues Haus', Cultural heritage building in Hofheim am Taunus, Germany

The Blaues Haus at Kapellenstraße 11 in Hofheim am Taunus is a Gründerzeit building with blue half-timbering and yellow infill panels, set in a park-like garden with a large terrace on the garden side. Its upper floor held Hanna Bekker vom Rath's studio with a small flat and tiny kitchen, while the bel étage contained a library, a garden room opening onto the wooden terrace and the deep-red Rotes Zimmer.

Hanna Bekker vom Rath acquired the house in 1920 and transformed it into a safe place for artists during a turbulent period. The collection eventually became an important archive for modern artworks that faced threats elsewhere.

The name Blaues Haus probably goes back to a letter of 29 May 1925, in which Ida Kerkovius sent greetings to Hanna Bekker's "dear blue house and all its inhabitants". From 1947 the owner ran a Frankfurt art cabinet, and in the house she held concerts and chamber theatre performances, including Georg Kaiser's Juana and Frank Wedekind's Der Kammersänger.

The house is privately owned and cannot be visited; its interior has been heavily altered since Hanna Bekker vom Rath's death and the garden redesigned. It stands at Kapellenstraße 11 on the Kapellenberg, not in the old town, so the blue half-timbering is seen from the public street outside.

Inside the house was a red room where expressionist artworks hung against deep red walls. This special space was an early example of how exhibition design could unite the room itself with the art displayed within it.