The Fagus Factory is a shoe-last factory that changed the course of architecture, and it sits unassumingly beside the railway line in Alfeld, a small town on the Leine river. The buildings were designed by the young Walter Gropius, with Adolf Meyer, and built between 1911 and 1913 for Carl Benscheidt, a manufacturer who wanted a modern, light-filled factory. What they produced, with glass walls that wrap around the corners of the brick structure with no supporting pillar in the way, was one of the first buildings in the world to look genuinely modern, a forerunner of the Bauhaus that Gropius would found in 1919.
The factory is still working, which makes it special. Shoe lasts, the wooden or plastic forms on which shoes are made, are still produced in some of the buildings, and the company runs a visitor centre and guided tours that explain the design and the history. UNESCO added the complex to the World Heritage list in 2011. It is a good stop for anyone who appreciates design, and even a short walk around the outside, with its clean lines and large windows, is rewarding.
Alfeld itself is a pleasant surprise. The old centre has half-timbered houses and a Renaissance town hall from the sixteenth century, and the town is a quiet and friendly one. The river Leine runs through the valley, with hills on either side, and the surrounding area is a mix of farmland and woodland. It is a pleasant place for a break, with cafes on the market square and a couple of bakeries nearby.
For a rider, Alfeld is a useful stop with fuel, supermarkets, and food, and the roads around it, through the Leine valley and into the Hils, are quiet and pleasant, with gentle bends and a good surface. Delligsen, a smaller town about five kilometres away, has fewer services. Parking at the factory is straightforward, though visits to the interior depend on tour times, so check ahead. Mornings are the best time for photographs, when the glass catches the light, and the best season is spring or autumn, when the weather is mild and the roads are quiet.