State Capital Dresden
View of the Elbe from the tower of the Frauenkirche
Image: Hamsterkiste
1 Dresden and the Elbe
11 bridges cross the Elbe in Dresden
Image: Hamsterkiste
In the past, people liked to live near rivers. They had drinking water for themselves and their animals, as well as fish and other animals they could hunt. Rivers also provided a quick way to get rid of waste. They offered protection from attacks, and some places prospered because they lay along trade routes that crossed rivers at certain points. Dresden probably developed in this way. The city lies on the Elbe. Many centuries ago, people here already used a crossing over the river. Over time, a settlement grew into a large city. The Elbe rises in the Czech Republic and flows through the Elbe Sandstone Mountains south of Dresden. Around Dresden, floodplains and meadows have formed on both sides of the river. In some places, they are up to 400 m wide. In the past, these Elbe meadows were used as pastures. Today, they provide space for floodwaters to spread, and are also a popular recreational area for city residents. Dresden has eleven bridges in total, four of them in the city center. You can also cross the river by ferry at three points. Bridges and ferries connect the Old Town on the left bank with the New Town on the opposite bank. After leaving Dresden, the Elbe continues north and northwest. After a total of 1,091 km, it flows into the North Sea near Cuxhaven.
2 The Brühl’s Terrace
The Brühl Terrace is sometimes also called the “Balcony of Europe”
Image: Hamsterkiste
Count Heinrich von Brühl lived from 1700 to 1763. He was one of the most important ministers of Elector Friedrich August I, who was also King of Poland and known as “Augustus the Strong”. Brühl received many gifts from him. The count eventually owned several castles, valuable porcelain collections and paintings. Today, a particularly beautiful site in Dresden’s Old Town is still known as Brühl’s Terrace. It lies directly on the River Elbe and was originally part of the city’s fortifications. Heinrich von Brühl had an art gallery, a library, a park and an observation tower built here. The site was eventually turned into a promenade. A grand staircase was built down to the Elbe, and further openings to the city centre were added later, connecting the site to the Old Town. The Saxon Ständehaus was built here. It housed the parliament of the Kingdom of Saxony and is now home to the Higher Regional Court of Saxony. The Sekundogenitur was a building owned by the second-born prince of Saxony. He kept his art collections there; today, the building houses a restaurant. The Academy of Fine Arts was based in the Lipsius Building. Its glass dome is a landmark and is jokingly known as the “lemon squeezer”. Today, the building is home to the Dresden University of Fine Arts. The Albertinum was once Dresden’s arsenal, the building where a city’s weapons were stored. A museum was established here in 1891 and named after King Albert, who ruled at the time. Today, it houses the Galerie Neue Meister. You can still walk along the old fortification walls on which Brühl’s Terrace was built. The Dresden Fortress Museum is also located here. Across the site, which is up to 10 metres high, 500 metres long and 200 metres wide, you can also see numerous monuments.
3 The Residence Palace
The castle church (left) and the residential palace
Image: Hamsterkiste
The Margraves, Electors and Kings of Saxony once ruled from this palace. From 1400 onward, they had the castle that previously stood here expanded into a grand palace. Each ruler altered the building to suit their own taste, which is why it features a variety of architectural styles. Its most striking feature is the 100-meter-high palace tower, also known as Hausmannsturm. Until 1945, it was Dresden's tallest building; today, it houses an observation platform. Elector Augustus the Strong had the so-called Green Vault added to the palace. It consists of nine exhibition rooms, where the treasures and precious works of art amassed by Saxony's rulers over the years were kept. There has been no King of Saxony since 1918, but many of the historic treasures are still here. The palace now houses five museums. The Green Vault has since been expanded, and visitors can see 4,000 exhibits there. The Armory displays historic weapons and ceremonial armor, while the Turkish Chamber houses a collection of art and weapons from the Orient. The palace also has a museum of prints and drawings and a coin museum.
4 The Zwinger
The Wallpavillon in the Zwinger is particularly splendidly decorated
Image: Hamsterkiste
The name Zwinger was once used for part of Dresden’s fortifications, which were built to protect the city from attacks by enemy soldiers. The architect Pöppelmann converted the Zwinger into a festival venue on the orders of Augustus the Strong. It had a square layout and was surrounded by various pavilions, some of which were built on the old city walls. You enter the Zwinger by crossing the old moat through the Crown Gate. Its most magnificent building is the Wall Pavilion. The lower floor consists of staircases leading up to the old city wall, while the upper floor contains a ballroom. There is also a two-story pavilion at each corner of the Zwinger. The pavilions served as exhibition spaces for the treasures of the Saxon rulers. Valuable mechanical devices were displayed in the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, while the Porcelain Pavilion housed a collection of precious porcelain. Later, the Semper Gallery was built, closing off the side of the Zwinger that had previously been open. It became home to the Old Masters Picture Gallery, which is still there today. The Zwinger is now home to three museums, and concerts and plays are also held here.
5 The Frauenkirche
The Frauenkirche was completely destroyed in World War II
Image: Hamsterkiste
It is Dresden’s best-known church. The Frauenkirche was built between 1723 and 1746. Its striking bell-shaped dome, made entirely of sandstone, is particularly impressive. Above it is the so-called lantern, a tower-like structure placed on top of the dome. The church, dome and lantern together stand 91 metres tall. The building was crowned with a tower cross. During the bombing of Dresden in February 1945 in World War II, large parts of the city were destroyed. The Frauenkirche burned down completely and collapsed. During the GDR era, its ruins were left standing as a memorial against war. After German reunification, the church was rebuilt, with many people contributing through donations. Quite a few of the old sandstone blocks were salvaged from the ruins and reused. The reconstruction took eleven years and was completed in 2005. The old tower cross was also found among the rubble. Today it stands inside the church.
6 The Church of the Holy Cross
The Kreuzkirche and neighboring buildings on the Altmarkt
Image: Hamsterkiste
The Church of the Holy Cross is the largest church in Dresden. It can accommodate more than 3,000 people. As early as the 12th century, a place of worship stood on this site, then known as St Nicholas’ Church. A chapel was later added to the church. Remains of a cross, on which Jesus Christ was said to have died, were venerated here. The chapel’s name was adopted by the church, which was then named “Zum Heiligen Kreuz” in 1388. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt; among other things, a 94-metre-high tower was erected in 1788. The Church of the Holy Cross has been badly damaged several times. It has burned down five times in its history, including in 1897 and in February 1945, following the air raids on Dresden. It was rebuilt each time. The Kreuzchor is closely associated with this church. Its members are boys aged between 9 and 19. It is one of Germany’s oldest choirs. Today it has around 150 members, known as Kruzianer. The boys attend the Evangelisches Kreuzgymnasium in Dresden; out-of-town and older students live in a boarding school.
7 The Semper Opera House
The Semperoper seats 1,300 visitors
Image: Hamsterkiste
An opera is a play set to music. It is performed by singers who act as well as sing. An opera always features a large orchestra and often includes dancers and a choir. The building where operas are performed is also called an opera house. In Dresden, this is the Semperoper. It is named after the architect Gottfried Semper, who designed the building. The first opera house designed by Semper, built in 1841, burned down completely 17 years later. Performances resumed at the new Semperoper in 1878. Construction was supervised by Semper’s eldest son, following his father’s plans. His father had been banished from the country for taking part in uprisings against the king. In February 1945, the Semperoper was once again completely destroyed during the bombing of Dresden. In East Germany, reconstruction began in 1977, following the original plans by the architect Gottfried Semper. The present building was completed in 1985. The Saxon State Orchestra performs operas and concerts in this opera house. It has room for 1,300 visitors. Inside, the Semperoper is decorated with magnificent chandeliers, ornate walls and ceilings, and carpets. The exterior is also adorned with all kinds of sculptures.
8 The Palace of Culture
The Palace of Culture was built in 1969, during the GDR era
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This building was constructed when Dresden was part of East Germany. The Kulturpalast opened in 1969. It is 100 m long, 70 m wide and 20 m high. Its large hall could accommodate up to 2,700 visitors. The Kulturpalast was used for concerts, meetings, conferences and dance events. It was home to Dresden’s municipal orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic. The Kulturpalast has since been renovated and reopened in April 2017. A new concert hall was built in the building, which is also home to the municipal library and a cabaret theatre. .
9 The State Parliament
The state parliament of the Free State of Saxony meets in this building
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Dresden is the capital of the Free State of Saxony, one of the 16 federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany. A capital is a city where a country’s parliament and government are based. The Landtag is the state parliament of the Free State of Saxony. It is made up of the women and men elected in state elections, which take place every five years.
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10 Museums and Collections
The Italian Bernardo Bellotto, who called himself Canaletto, painted many pictures of Dresden
Image: public domain
The Italian painter Bernardo Bellotto came to Dresden at the age of 25. Elector Friedrich August I, who was also King of Poland, and his minister Heinrich Brühl hired him as their court painter and paid him an annual salary of 1,750 thalers. They also became godparents to the painter’s four daughters. Bernardo Bellotto adopted the name Canaletto in Dresden. He mainly painted landscapes. Fourteen of his paintings of Dresden can still be seen today in the Old Masters Picture Gallery. The gallery is housed in the Zwinger. It contains 750 paintings by famous artists from the 15th to the 18th centuries, including Vermeer, Rembrandt and Raphael. The city’s other museums and art collections also attract large numbers of visitors from all over the world. The German Hygiene Museum hosts exhibitions on hygiene and nutrition, while the Bundeswehr Military History Museum is in the north of the city. There is also a museum dedicated to the poet Erich Kästner.
11 The Yenidze Tobacco Factory
The tower of the former tobacco factory looks like a mosque
Image: Hamsterkiste
The former Yenidze tobacco factory is one of Dresden’s most unusual buildings. It began operating in 1909. At the time, factories could not be built in central Dresden. Entrepreneur Hugo Zietz wanted to build a tobacco factory anyway, so he resorted to a trick. He had the building constructed in the style of a mosque, disguising the chimney as a minaret. This meant the complex did not look like a factory from the outside, even though tobacco could still be produced there. The factory is named after the Yenidze tobacco-growing region in Greece. Today it is a listed building and is used mainly as office space.
12 The Blue Wonder
This bridge is called the “Blue Wonder”
Image: Pixabay.com
The best-known bridge over the Elbe is called the “Blue Wonder” by many people in Dresden. It gets its name from the blue paint on its metal parts. Its official name is the Loschwitz Bridge. Completed in 1893, it needs no bridge pier in the middle. It is 280 metres long and 12 metres wide. For a long time, Dresden had only one bridge. It connected Dresden’s Old Town on the left bank of the Elbe with the town of Altendresden on the right bank. Elector Friedrich August I, whom we know as “August the Strong”, had it turned into one of the most magnificent bridges in Europe. It was eventually named the Augustus Bridge. Today, 11 bridges cross the Elbe in Dresden. The Albert Bridge, Carolabrücke, Augustus Bridge and Marienbrücke are in the Old Town area. The newest bridge, the Waldschlösschen Bridge, was built only a few years ago. It is 636 metres long and 24 metres wide.