Dresden - that's our city!

Dresden - the city of art and culture, the pearl of the occident and the synonymous for an anglo-american holocaust.

We would like to introduce the city of Dresden to you on this page:

History

Founded on the site of a fishing village as a merchants' settlement and the seat of the local rulers, Dresden was from the 15th century onwards residence of the Saxon dukes, electoral princes and later kings. The city has experienced both splendid eras and times of tragedy. It was above all during the 18th century a magnificent centre of European politics, culture and economic development, only to become a synonym for apocalyptic destruction just two centuries later. For the people of Dresden, and for friends all over the world, it has always been a unique city, with a fascination which has evolved throughout a turbulent history.

Three months before the end of the Second World War, a series of five air raids between 13th and 15th February 1945 practically erased the centre of Dresden and extensive areas of the suburbs. At least between 150,000 an 200,000 people lost their lives. The culturally and historically so valuable city centre was buried under 18 million cubic metres of rubble. Under indescribably arduous conditions, the remaining inhabitants of Dresden spared no effort in their attempts to restore the vital functions of the mortally afflicted city. On 8th May 1945, the Soviet army occupied Dresden.

City of art

УDresden gave me great pleasure, and my desire to think about art was revived. There are unbelievable treasures of all kinds at this beautiful place.Ф This positive rйsumй was given by no lesser person than Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, after he had just spent his fourth stay in Dresden in 1794, during which he made several visits to the city's art collections, and above all to the famous Picture Gallery. On visits to his friend Christian Gottfried Kцrner, Friedrich Schiller met many important contemporaries among the former's wide circle of acquaintances and drew important inspiration for his literary works. Just a few years later, Heinrich von Kleist was equally enthusiastic about the city, its delightful setting, the slopes of the Elbe valley and the Уpositively Italian skiesФ above.

The names of these three poets stand as representatives for countless famous names in art, music, literature and science, for all those who were at home in Dresden over the centuries and found stimulation in the creative atmosphere in the city. Similar conclusions, albeit in more modern words, are still today left behind by Dresden visitors who explore the city with an attentive eye and who are receptive to the uniquely harmonious blend of art, culture and natural beauty which makes up the special charm of Dresden.

Architecture in Dresden

The residence of the Saxon electors and kings brought forth important architectural gems over the whole period since the 16th century. This is seen most clearly today in the Dresden Palace, for example, which presents traces of practically every style period of European architecture. Nevertheless, the contemporary fame of Dresden's architecture is founded on its Baroque buildings. As Kings of Poland, Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III had Dresden transformed into one of the most exquisite royal residences in Europe. Impressive testimonies to the Baroque period are today still the Zwinger by Pцppelmann and Permoser, the Blockhaus, the Taschenbergpalais, the Japanese Palais and George Bдhr's Frauenkirche church. The Classicist years represented a second important zenith in the city's development with Schinkel's guardhouse on Theaterplatz square, alongside the art gallery and opera house by Gottfried Semper, which were created in the style of Historicism.

The rapid growth of the city from the second half of the 19th century was not only a period of important technical and urban planning achievements, but also added further outstanding buildings into the Dresden townscape. The city was thus able to maintain its already famous townscape, while at the same time introducing innovative architecture. Hans Erlwein, for example, created a series of pioneering municipal buildings, and the district of Hellerau was the first "garden town" in Germany. The severe destruction at the end of the Second World War robbed Dresden of many of its architectural monuments. In the meantime, however, endlessly painstaking work, under the supervision of committed and expert monument curators, has succeeded in restoring the city's reputation as a pearl of European architecture.

The historic centre of the city on the River Elbe should be explored on foot - from the Zwinger and the Semper Opera House to the Royal Palace, which is under reconstruction, on to the Frauenkirche and to Brьhl's Terrace, and to the town houses in the inner new city (Innere Neustadt).

Fine arts in Dresden

The fine arts have enjoyed a long tradition in Dresden. Even back into the Middle Ages, important artists of the time were active in Dresden with commissions from the Saxon court. Dresden enjoyed an outstanding heyday in the 18th century under the rule of Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III, who transformed their residence into one of the most magnificent cities in Europe. Architecture, art and music experienced a significant upswing during the so-called "Augustan age". Both monarchs attracted eminent artists to their courts: The portraits by French painter Louis de Silvestre have left us impressive depictions of the Saxon-Polish rulers, while court jeweller Johann Melchior Dinglinger created breathtaking works of art of previously unknown beauty and preciousness.

After countless unsuccessful experiments, Johann Friedrich Bцttger discovered the recipe for European porcelain, the legendary "white gold" of Saxony, and the famous bell- shaped dome of George Bдhr's Frauenkirche overlooked the city from 1743 onwards. The year 1755 saw publication in Dresden of Johann Joachim Winckelmann's controversial essay УThoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and SculptureФ, in which he propagated a renunciation of the courtly formal language of the Rococo style and inaugurated the epoch of Classicism.

The Dresden Art Academy acquired considerable importance in the second half of the century. Such prominent professors as Anton Graff and Adrian Zingg made the Dresden Academy one of the most important art schools in Europe in the field of painting. In the mid-19th century, Ernst Rietschel, Gottfried Semper and Ludwig Richter rang in a second significant era for the Academy, which experienced a further zenith around the turn of the century with artists such as Gotthardt Kuehl and Robert Sterl.

The Electors and Kings of Saxony were enthusiastic collectors of art and acquired art treasures of immeasurable value over the course of the centuries. With his Electoral collection of cabinet pieces, Elector Augustus laid the foundation for the original collection in Dresden, which was counted among the most remarkable sights in Europe as early as the 17th century.

So rapidly did the collectibles grow in number and variety that special museums were founded as long ago as the 18th century. Thanks to the collections, state-owned since 1924, Dresden is one of the most important museum cities in Europe today.

The best-known museum of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden is certainly the Old Masters Picture Gallery in the Semper museum building adjoining the Zwinger, where the most famous painting is Raffael's Sistine Madonna. The New Masters Picture Gallery in the Albertinum building on Brьhl's Terrace holds important works from the Romantic period to the present day. The same museum building currently also houses the Grьnes Gewцlbe (Green Vault), the widely known, most valuable German collection of more than 3,000 works of applied arts. The subjects of the 37 Dresden museums range from civic history to military history, from the Technical Collections (Technische Sammlungen) to the Book Museum.

Music in Dresden

The history of court music in Dresden can be followed back at least as far as the 15th century. The "Hofcantorey" choir and orchestra founded in 1548 started up a tradition continued today by the Staatskapelle orchestra and the Saxon State Opera Company. In the 17th century, Heinrich Schьtz (1585-1672) raised Dresden's court music to European significance. He is considered the "father of German music", wrote the first German oratorios, as well as numerous religious concerts, Passions and motets. These works are still fostered today, for example by one of the oldest and most famous boys choirs in the world, the Dresden Kreuzchor choir. From 1734 to 1763, Italian opera enjoyed a unique heyday under Johann Adolf Hasse, who created around 100 musical works here. In the 19th century, Carl Maria von Weber established Dresden as a centre of Romantic music, Richard Wagner composed his "Tannhдuser" and "Lohengrin", and Robert Schumann experienced his most creative period in Dresden. Around the turn of the century, the Dresden opera house contributed once more to musical history, for example with the premieres of nine operas by Richard Strauss.

Dresden is the home of important orchestras, such as the Staatskapelle and the Dresden Philharmonic. In the Dresden Semper Opera House, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, audiences can enjoy a unique blend of tradition and contemporary music culture. The Staatskapelle orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in the world and occupies a prominent place in the musical life of the city. With its 145 musicians, it not only accompanies productions of the State Opera Company, but also maintains its own extensive concert calendar. The Dresden Philharmonic, the second world-class orchestra at home in Dresden, devotes its activities not only to regular concerts and tours, both at home and abroad, but also to intensive cultivation of chamber music traditions and to musical education. Special emphasis is given to the works of Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Bruckner and Tschaikovsky, as well as to contemporary compositions. Music enthusiasts all over the world are familiar with Dresden. This is due not least to the guest performances by the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sдchsische Staatskapelle working at the famous Semper Opera House, the Dresdner Kreuzchor and Dresdner Kapellknaben choirs.

Theatre in Dresden

Regular performances by travelling theatre groups in Dresden are documented back into the 16th century. On occasions they also played for the Saxon court, though it was opera which dominated here. In the 18th century, Caroline Neuber, the "mother of German theatre", worked in Dresden. In the first half of the 19th century, the State Theatre founded in 1814 was the determining factor in the city's theatre scene, with directors such as Ludwig Tieck and Karl Gutzkow. Further highlights in Dresden's theatre history were the performances of works by contemporary dramatists such as Ibsen, Strindberg, Wilde and Schnitzler around 1900.

Dresden's theatres, too, have contributed to the city's world- wide reputation as a centre of art and culture. Magnificent theatre buildings, such as the famous Semper Opera House, demonstrate through their appearance how much importance was attached to this genre of art. Although all the theatres were destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during the Second World War, and although the Opera and the Schauspielhaus (Playhouse) were the only ones to be reconstructed, theatre enthusiasts today can still choose from a diverse programme. Friends of the opera can enjoy performances in the Semper Opera House, which was rebuilt and restored to its former splendour. On the other hand, those who prefer light musical entertainment, will find a programme to suit their tastes at the Staatsoperette with operettas, musicals and comic operas. The Dresden Staatsschauspiel, with its four venues: Schauspielhaus, Schlosstheater (Palace Theatre), Theater in der Fabrik (Theatre in the Factory) and Theater oben (Theatre at the Top) provides its spectators with a wide range of dramatic art. The need for high-standard witty entertainment is served by the Komцdie Dresden with a wide variety of types and genres. An independent theatre for children and young people, with separate divisions for drama and puppet theatre, introduces the younger generation to the experience of the theatre.

Literature in Dresden

The special atmosphere in the city - characterised by the apparent contradictions of the dreamy, almost conventional lifestyle of a royal residence on the one hand and a creative, cosmopolitan cultural centre on the other - has attracted and inspired countless poets and friends of literature over the centuries. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, Dresden became one of the centres of German literature, especially for the Romantic movement. The salons held by Christian Gottfried Kцrner, and later the house of Ludwig Tieck, were popular meeting places for great poets such as Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Kleist and Novalis and important philosophers such as Humboldt and the Schlegel brothers.

The surroundings of Dresden are also very beautiful, Saxon Switzerland or the old town of Meiяen so for example. Via 7,4 million visitors come every year to Dresden.

We love our town and we are happy also on your visit!