Zwinger

Dresden's most celebrated tourist attraction is the Zwinger, a gem of courtly Baroque architecture in which overflowing creative power and clarity of form are most happily combined.

The best approach to the Zwinger is over the old moat (the Zwingergraben) to the rear of the Theater (Schauspielhaus; 1912-13) and through the Kronentor.

Picture - Angel statue at Zwinger, Dresden.

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Zwinger Map

Important Information:

Opening hours: 10am-6pm; Closed: Mon

Facilities: Restaurant or food service

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On the front of this gateway, which is topped by the royal crown of Poland, the emblems of the Saxon/Polish dynasty of Augustus the Strong, who had the Zwinger built (by M. D. Pöppelmann, 1710-32) as a celebration of his power.

The Zwinger shows an extraordinary variety and magnificence of form: the majestic 32-bayed Long Gallery on the south side, the four symmetrically arranged pavilions on the east and west sides, the Wallpavillon in the center of the semicircular arched gallery at the west end - with its musical lightness the particular jewel of the Zwinger - and the Nymphenbad (Bath of the Nymphs) with its graceful fountains and mythological female figures (from the workshop of Balthasar Permoser, who collaborated with Pöppelmann on the construction of the Zwinger).

The Zwinger's collection of porcelain is the second largest in the world.

The Zwinger also has a large collection of scientific instruments and a carillon of 40 porcelain bells.

Related Attractions

Porcelain Collection

In the Long Gallery, to the right of the Kronentor in Dresden's Zwinger, is the entrance to the Porcelain Collection, the second largest in the world, with early Chinese pottery and Chinese porcelain of the finest period, the famous "Dragon vases", Böttger stoneware and a unique display of Meissen porcelain.

On the inner side of the Glockenspielpavillon, adjoining the Porcelain Collection, is a carillon of 40 porcelain bells, also from the Meissen manufactory.

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Mathematical-Physical Sciences Salon

In the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon in the southwest pavilion of Dresden's Zwinger can be seen a collection of scientific instruments of the 13th to 19th centuries, including geodetic apparatus and a collection of clocks.

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Zoological Museum

In the western half of the Long Gallery on the south side of Dresden's Zwinger is an exhibition of material from the Zoological Museum. The rest of the museum's collection is in the Fasanenschlösschen at Schloss Moritzburg. Also in the Long Gallery is a permanent exhibition on "Animals in the History of Art".

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Gallery of Old Masters

On the north side of Dresden's Zwinger is a linking wing built in 1847-54 by Gottfried Semper, who played a leading part in the architectural development of Dresden in the 19th century. At the west end of this wing is the Picture Gallery of Old Masters, one of the world's great art galleries, whose treasures include works by Flemish and Dutch painters of the 15th and 17th centuries (van Dyck, Rubens, Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.), German painting of the 16th-18th centuries (Dürer, Holbein, Cranach, Graff, Tischbein, etc.), Spanish and French painting of the 17th and 18th centuries (Velázquez, Murillo; Poussin, etc.) and - the high point of the collection - Italian painting of the 15th-18th centuries, particularly Renaissance works (Raphael, "Sistine Madonna"; Giorgione, "Sleeping Venus"; Titian, "The Tribute Money"; Botticelli, Correggio, the Carracci, Guido Reni, Tintoretto, etc.).

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Historical Museum

At the east end of the north wing in Dresden's Zwinger is the Historical Museum, with long-range weapons of the 16th-18th centuries, weapons of cold steel of the 15th-18th centuries, hunting arms and equipment of the 16th and 18th centuries, armor (including the magnificent parade armor of Elector Christian II, 1562-64), helmets and shields of the 16th and 17th centuries and the regalia worn by Augustus the Strong at his coronation as king of Poland in 1697.

The Historical Museum is temporarily closed for renovation.

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