Dresden lies in a wide basin in the upper Elbe valley, which extends for a distance of 40km/25mi from Meissen to Pirna between the foothills of the Eastern Erzgebirge, the steep scarp of the Lusatian granite plateau and the Elbsandsteingebirge (Elbe Sandstone Hills). Dresden has been favored over the centuries by its beautiful setting, its agreeable climate and its location on important trade routes.
The Albertinum, built between 1884 and 1887, is a world-scale art gallery with an impressive collection.
The Gallery of Old Masters in Dresden showcases masterpieces by Flemish, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian and French artists. The paintings date back to as early as the 15th Century.
Built in a typically Italian High Renaissance style, Semper's Opera House was once the most impressive theater in Dresden.
The Zwinger in Dresden is a fine example of Baroque architecture. Aside from its striking and impressive architecture, the Zwinger is famous for its collections of porcelain and scientific instruments.
The steel suspension bridge spanning the Elbe, known as the Blue Wonder, was built in the late 19th C.
A flight of stairs leads to the open area known as Bruhl Terrace, often referred to as the "Balcony of Europe".
The Stolpen Castle, 220m/240yds long, consists of four wards or courtyards. A signposted route takes visitors round the main features of interest. A museum on the history of the castle and the town is housed in thirteen rooms and eight cellars.
The well in the fourth courtyard is the world's deepest basalt well (82m/269ft).
Address:
Stolpen Castle, Schloss-strasse 10, D-01833 Stolpen, Germany
Hours:
April 1 to October 31: 9am-6pm
November 1 to March 31: 10am-4pm
This church was built in the first half of the 18th C but severely damaged by Allied bombing. It was restored and in 1980 it was elevated to cathedral status.
Georgentor was severely damaged during WWII. It was reconstructed in the 1960s, and maintained the original Renaissance doorway.
The Baroque gardens at Gross-sedlitz are some of the best in Saxony. Festivals are often held here during the summer months.
The palaces of Pilnitz represent some of the finest palaces from the time of Augustus the Strong. They can be reached by boat.
The German Public Health Museum, located in an outstanding 1930 building, is designed to promote healthy living through education.
Schloss Moritzburg began as a modest hunting lodge in the mid 16th C but was converted into the present day palace in the 18th C. The old lodge and its chapel can still be seen.
The round-topped hill on which the Stolpen Castle stands, with its striking octagonal basalt columns, is protected as a natural monument. The finest columns are to be seen on the west side of the castle; within the castle itself the columns have the appearance of organ pipes.
Address:
Stolpen Castle, Schloss-strasse 10, D-01833 Stolpen, Germany
Hours:
April 1 to October 31: 9am-6pm
November 1 to March 31: 10am-4pm
Tips: Last admission half hour before closing.
Group discount rate available.
Guides: Guided tour available as optional extra.
Typical Visit: 1 hour
Upstream from Dresden on the Elbe, in Wachwitz, rises the 252 m/827ft high Television Tower (cafe and viewing platform), from which there are far-ranging views of Meissen, the Elbe Sandstone Hills, the Eastern Erzgebirge and the Lusatian Uplands.
Theaterplatz is a fine square with an equestrian statue of King John by Schilling.
The ruins of the Frauenkirche (1726-43) in Dresden's Neumarkt, with its famous 95m/312ft high stone dome, was once Germany's largest Protestant church and the great landmark and emblem of Dresden. There are now plans to rebuild it.
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| Martin Luther in front of the Church of Our Lady. |
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The Dresdner Heide is a popular recreation area to the northeast of Dresden, an expanse of wooded country traversed by small streams, 50 sq.km/19sq.mi in extent. In the center of the heath is the Saugarten (footpaths).
The Dreseden Music Festival runs for two weeks from late May to early June and includes a wide array of events, including operas, classical concerts, recitals and dance performances.
This is considered on of Germany's largest festivals and since its inception in 1978 has focused on a different theme every year.
Regular performers include the Dresden State Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic, while other participants come from around the world.
There are usually over 70 different events which take place in various impressive venues, including the Semper Opera House, the Dresden Cultural Palace, the Albrechtsburg Meissen and numerous castles, theaters and parks.
Address:
Dresden Tourist Office, Pragerstrasse 10, D-01069 Dresden, Germany
(Near Dresden)
In Hosterwitz, near Dresden, are the fishermen's church of Maria am Wasser (St Mary by the Water; originally Late Romanesque, remodeled in Baroque style in 1774) and the Carl Maria von Weber Memorial Museum (Dresdner Strasse 44), in a little house once occupied by the composer.
Until February 1945 the Dresden Neumarkt was perhaps the most picturesque square in the Baroque city. It is now occupied only by the ruins of the Frauenkirche.
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| Martin Luther in front of the Church of Our Lady. |
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The Russian Orthodox Church (1872-74) has onion-domed towers. It contains Russian icons over 200 years old.
(Near Dresden)
Stolpen, 20km/12.5mi east of Dresden, is noted for its medieval castle and for the fine basalt formations of the hill on which the castle stands.
Address:
Stolpen Tourist Office, Markt 1, D-01833 Stolpen, Germany
A striking feature of Stolpen is the Markt, which is almost exactly square - a relic of the medieval settlement of this area. Beside the Town Hall is the Löwenapotheke (Lion Pharmacy; 1722), with a gilded coat of arms. The old Amtshaus (offices of a local government official), now occupied by a savings bank, has a fine coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony dated 1673. In the new Amtshaus (also with the Electoral arms) Napoleon lodged in 1813.
The Tharandter Wald (area 6,000 hectares/15,000 acres), now a landscape reserve, lies southwest of Dresden on the northern edge of the Eastern Erzgebirge, between the Wilde Weisseritz to the east and the Colmnitzbach to the southwest. It is the largest expanse of woodland within easy reach of Dresden after the Dresdner Heide, and is a very popular recreation area with the population of the city.
To the south of the old town in Dresden is the University of Technology, originally an Institute of Technical Education established in 1828 which from 1900 onwards expanded to occupy a whole district of the town.
Northeast of the Schlosspark in Dresden is the Weinbergkirche (by M. D. Pöppelmann, 1723-27). It has a relief of the Last Supper by J. G. Kretzschmar (1648), originally in the chapel (now demolished) of the Schloss in Dresden.
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Albertinum
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Hosterwitz, Germany
Zwinger, Dresden
Semper's Opera House, Dresden
Great Garden, Dresden
Zwinger, Dresden
Zwinger, Dresden
Semper's Opera House, Dresden
Great Garden, Dresden
