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Dresden is the capital of Saxony, set in a broad bend of the River Elbe in eastern Germany. For centuries it was the seat of the electors and kings of Saxony, and under Augustus the Strong and his son it filled with Baroque palaces, churches and art collections that earned it the name Florence on the Elbe.
Much of the old center was destroyed in the bombing of February 1945, and its rebuilding has taken decades. The Frauenkirche was raised again from its ruins between 1994 and 2005, and today the skyline along the river, from the cathedral and the castle to the Semperoper, looks much as painters showed it in the 18th century.
The city's museums, including the Green Vault treasury and the Old Masters in the Zwinger, are among the richest in Europe. Beyond the center, river steamers and trains lead upstream to the summer palace of Pillnitz and the sandstone cliffs of Saxon Switzerland, while the moated Moritzburg Castle lies just to the north.
The Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, is the great Lutheran church of Dresden, begun in 1726 with one of the largest domes in Europe. Destroyed in the Allied bombing at the end of World War II, it stood as a ruin for decades before being rebuilt in 1994-2005, partly with its original stones.
The Zwinger in Dresden is a Baroque palace complex built from 1709 by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann for Augustus the Strong. Its richly carved pavilions and galleries frame a courtyard garden, and today they house museums including the Old Masters Picture Gallery and a porcelain collection.
The Semperoper is the opera house of Dresden on the Theaterplatz near the Elbe, home of the Saxon State Opera and the Staatskapelle. Designed by Gottfried Semper and opened in 1841, it was rebuilt after a fire and finished in 1878, and it saw premieres of works by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.
Dresden Castle was the residence of the electors and kings of Saxony for almost 400 years, from 1547 to 1918, in styles from Renaissance to Neo-Renaissance. It is now a museum complex holding the Historic and New Green Vault treasuries, the Armory with the Turkish Chamber and coins.
Brühl's Terrace is a raised promenade above the bank of the Elbe in Dresden, known as the Balcony of Europe. Built on the old city walls and named after Count Heinrich von Brühl, who had a palace and gardens there from 1737, it offers wide views over the river and is lined with grand buildings.
The Fürstenzug, or Procession of Princes, is a mural on the Stables Courtyard wall of Dresden Castle. About 102 meters long, it shows 35 rulers of the House of Wettin on horseback on some 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles laid in 1904-1907, making it the largest porcelain artwork in the world.
Dresden Cathedral, the former Catholic court church or Hofkirche, stands beside the Elbe next to the castle in Dresden. It was designed by Gaetano Chiaveri and built from 1738 to 1751 for Augustus III, became a cathedral in 1964, and holds tombs of the House of Wettin, including Polish kings.
The Albertinum is an art museum on Brühl's Terrace in Dresden, set in a Renaissance Revival building of 1884-1887 built onto an old arsenal. It houses the New Masters Gallery and the Sculpture Collection of the Dresden State Art Collections, covering about 200 years from Romanticism to today.
Pillnitz Castle is a Baroque palace on the right bank of the Elbe at the eastern edge of Dresden, the summer home of Saxon electors and kings. Its Riverside and Upper Palaces, with Chinese-style roofs, and the later New Palace enclose a formal garden, and they now hold an arts and crafts museum.
Moritzburg Castle is a Baroque palace on an artificial island about 13 kilometers northwest of Dresden, with four round towers rising from its lake. It began as a hunting lodge built for Duke Moritz of Saxony in 1542-1546, and the woods and lakes around it were a favorite hunting ground.
The Bastei is a jagged sandstone rock formation rising 194 meters above the Elbe near Rathen, southeast of Dresden, the landmark of Saxon Switzerland National Park. Visitors have come for more than 200 years, and the sandstone Bastei Bridge of 1851 links the rocks high above the valley floor.
Königstein Fortress sits on a table mountain 240 meters above the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland, southeast of Dresden, and is one of the largest hilltop forts in Europe. Its walls run 1,800 meters around a plateau with over 50 buildings, and its well, 152.5 meters deep, is the deepest in Saxony.
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