DRESDEN – TO FEEL THE EUROPEAN CULTURE
MASTERS OF OLD
HIGHLIGHTS OF BAROQUE
A MIRACLE BRIDGE
THE BKB TRAVEL GUIDE “3 DAYS IN”
You will find detailed information in our travel guide “3 Days in Dresden“: A schedule for three days, a city map, special tips and the BKB address service. We will show you the highlights, walk with you into nice quarters, have breaks and tell nice stories … just as much as you need for three days!
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The texts and images on our website are to help you get your bearings and plan your trip to Dresden. All information has been carefully researched by the 3-Days-In editorial team and continually updated. Nevertheless, it is possible that individual details are incomplete or out of date. We are therefore grateful for every correction or addition to our information. Please send your hints to: info@3-tagein.de
TIPS FROM THE VISIT-THE-CITY EDITORS FOR YOUR 3-DAY TRIP TO DRESDEN
There are many reasons to visit Dresden the capital of Saxony, with its with its unique buildings and the impressive man-made landscape of the Elbe valley, world-famous collections of art and legendary reputation as a city of music, not to mention the unique landscape of the Elbe valley. In addition to the culture, Dresden is a great place for enjoying life. In all parts of the city, pubs and restaurants serve food from around the world. Locals and visitors flock to the beer gardens in the meadows on the river, where paddle steamers pass by on excursions up and down the Elbe. For all those who come here for a lifestyle with a southern European touch, it is easy to understand what makes the “Florence of the north” so attractive.
DRESDEN DAY 1
THEATERPLATZ – RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY
Your tour through the city starts at this fine square, which is notable for its view of the famous buildings: from here you can enjoy a panorama taking in the opera house, royal palace, Zwinger, Hofkirche, the Italian Village and Neustädter Wache.
An equestrian statue of King John (1854-73) dominates the centre of the square. He already had a reputation as a scholar when he ascended the throne: he had published a translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy.
TO SING OPERA AND MORE
The opera house has survived fire, bombing and floods, and each time emerged again from ruins. Thanks to its imposing architec- ture and excellent acoustics, the opera house is famous across the world – in Germany it is known to millions as the iconic building, shown illuminated at night, in the advertisements for a well-known beer, Radeberger Pils. When his first opera house fell victim to fire, Gottfried Semper designed a second theatre (1871-78) in the style of the Italian High Renaissance. After its destruction in the war, this historic monument was rebuilt almost exactly as it originally was, but incorporating up-to-date stage technology, and ceremoniously reopened in 1985 with a performance of Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz.
WHERE THE GREAT ELECTOR OF SAXONY LIVED
The Palace used to be the magnificent residence of the Wettin dynasty. It developed over seven centuries from a castle, and following destruction in the war is now being rebuilt as a museum centre for the Free State of Saxony. In Augustusstrasse, on the outside of the Langer Gang (long passage), look out for the famous Fürstenzug (procession of princes), the world’s largest porcelain picture. Over a length of more than 100 metres, 25,000 tiles of Meissen porcelain portray Wettin rulers from 1127 to 1904 with their entourages. The Fürstenzug was created in 1872-76, originally in sgraffito, but as this quickly weathered, the design was then done on ceramic tiles.
BRUEHL TERRACE – THE BALCONY OF EUROPE
Take the broad flight of steps that leads past the statues of the Four Seasons to “Europe’s balcony”, as the Brühl Terrace is called for its superb view of the cathedral, opera house, the Neustädter Ufer and the meadows on the river Elbe. In 1740 Frederick Augustus II made a gift of this part of the city fortifications to his minister of state, Henry, Count von Brühl, who ordered the construction of a Baroque pleasure garden with many buildings and held extravagant festivities here.
THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY
The highlight of the walk through the Old Town is a visit to the Church of Our Lady, which again dominates the skyline of the city. When the bells rang out for the consecration of the new Frauenkirche on 30 October 2005, they marked the completion of an unparalleled commitment to reconstruction and a symbol of the reconciliation between nations: 45 years after this Baroque masterpiece was severely damaged as bombs rained down on 13 February 1945, and collapsed two days later, a group of committed citizens founded an initiative to rebuild the church, and publicised the idea around the world. They gained the support of 13,000 people in 23 countries – the son of a bomber pilot in London, for example, a skilled smith who made the cross for the tower – and raised over 100 million euros, almost two-thirds of the costs of reconstruction.
ELECTOR’S TRESURY – DAS GRÜNE GEWÖLBE
Unique works of art and superb examples of craftsmanship from the princely treasury are open to visitors in the west wing of the palace. They include the famous cherrystone in which 185 faces are said to be carved, and Johann Melchior Dinglinger’s Baroque table-piece “Hofstaat zu Delhi” with 137 figures in gold and coloured enamel and 3,000 precious stones, for which Augustus the Strong paid 58,000 thalers.
DRESDEN AT NIGHT
Whether you want to feel the Mediterranean flair of Elbflorenz, sit in a cozy beer garden or get to know a quaint pub, for your evening out there are many offers. In the “Weisse Gasse” and “Münzgasse” of the old town, dozens of restaurants and bars invite you to linger, the bars and pubs in the Neustadt district and the pure South Sea feeling can be spent in warm summer nights on the river Elbe, which becomes a fancy party mile. In the BKB travel guide “3 days in Dresden” you will find a selection of the favorite localities of our editors.
DRESDEN DAY 2.
ACROSS THE RIVER INTO A FANCY QUARTER
Before noon you stroll along the promenade of Innere Neustadt, admire baroque burgher houses, chic boutiques and cozy backyards, before strolling through the dazzling scene district of Äußere Neustadt.
The quarter on the right bank of the Elbe is called Neustadt, New Town, because Augustus the Strong had the area previously known as Altendresden rebuilt as the “New Royal Town” after a fire in 1732. The four wings of the late Baroque and neoclassical palace built by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann to house Augustus the Strong’s collection of Chinese, Japanese and Meissen porcelain is a testimony to this period.
HAUPTSTRASSE – STROLLING UNDER PLANE TREES
The boulevard that leads north from here has long been one of the city’s favourite shopping streets. The old plane trees in the middle of the road, the fountains and sculptures and the numerous shops and boutiques make it an attractive place to spend time window-shopping. Take a look at the historic townhouses on the west side: here passageways and courtyards have been opened and connected to form the Kunsthandwerker-(craftsmen’s)Passage.
INSIDE THE QUARTER OF THE NEW SCENE
The area around Alaunstr., Görlitzerstr. and Louisenstr., where the Colourful Republic of Neustadt was founded in 1990, is no longer just the home of the alternative scene. With its many little shops, trendy pubs, bars and clubs the Äussere Neustadt is a vibrant quarter that is worth looking around, as the bombing of the last war largely spared its 19th-century architecture.
Don’t miss the Kunsthofpassage between Alaunstr. and Görlitzerstr. It consists of five backyards, thematically designed by Dresden artists, with shops and pubs that are interesting to view and visit.
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER
Now you go to “the world’s most beautiful dairy”, the “Pfund’s Molkerei”. Countless tourists come to this shop to admire its original decoration of colourful art nouveau tiles by Villeroy and Boch. But the place is not only interesting for art-historians. This tiny little shop is one of the few surviving examples of the classical “shop around the corner”. Even today, everyday items such as milk, cheese, chocolate and soap are sold.
However, it is not easy to buy. Countless tourists visit the shop and, if you want to buy something, you should bring not only money, but also patience.
SHOPPING IN THE CITY
Altmarkt is the ideal place to start a shopping tour from Prager Strasse to the main railway station. The Altmarkt-Galerie, a modern shopping centre with more than 200 specialist stores and restaurants, is a particular attraction amidst the post-war buildings. Prager Straße is a shopping street with all the big brands and retail chains as well as well-known department stores.
Shopping centres such as Centrum Galerie, Prager Spitze by the main station and the Kugelhaus on Wiener Platz – its glass ball (Kugel) a throwback to the world’s first Kugelhaus, built in Dresden in 1928 – round off the shopping experience.
DRESDEN DAY 3.
WEHRE AUGUSTUS THE STRONG RELAXED
Even if visitors to Pillnitz no longer arrive in the style of court society, taking the princely gondola along the river Elbe and ascending steps flanked by sphinxes in order to enter the palace, the half-hour journey by bus through the Elbe valley to Pillnitz is still an experience in its own right. The palace and its grounds, which nestle into the landscape below the vineyards of the Elbe, are one of the most notable Baroque ensembles in Europe. Make an excursion to the summer residence of the Dresden royal court to find out how landscape and architecture can combine harmoniously, how many flowers can bloom on a camellia, and on which throne Augustus the Strong sat in state.
THE BRIDGE CALLED “A BLUE WONDER”
On this excursion you can explore the slopes of the Elbe valley, site of aristocratic villas, and discover the rural side of Dresden, which has a truly Mediterranean atmosphere in summer. Cross the river to Blasewitz by the Blue Wonder, as the Elbe bridge of Loschwitz is called on account of its pale blue paint. When the steel suspension bridge with a span of 140 metres was inaugurated in 1893, it was considered a great technical achievement.
MEDITERANEAN ATMOSPHERE
Have a break in the old fishing and wine village of Loschwitz. “No-one could be happier than I now feel”, wrote Caspar David Friedrich in his diary in 1803. Like many other artists of the Romantic period, Friedrich lived and worked here for a period. To this day the old centre of the village, with its lovingly restored houses of fishermen, wine-farmers and craftsmen, is a romantic place. In the idyllic beer garden of Villa Marie right by the Elbe below the Blaues Wunder, or in the Tuscanstyle interior, you can enjoy the Italian side of Dresden.
THE ZWINGER – HIGHLIGH OF BAROCK
Desiring worthy surroundings for his court celebrations, Augustus the Strong gave his architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and his court sculptor Balthasar Permoser the task of creating a magnificent group of buildings. From 1709 they provided him with an ensemble of pavilions and galleries, symmetrically grouped around a courtyard, in which architecture, painting and sculpture fuse to form a single work of Baroque art. Today it is one of the greatest creations in Europe from this period.
OLD MASTERPIECES
The two angels at the bottom of the page have been reproduced millions of times and are probably more famous than the Sistine Madonna that Raphael painted for the high altar of the monastery church of San Sisto in Piacenza in 1512-13. The latter, one of the many masterpieces in the Gemäldegalerie, is among the most famous paintings of the Italian Renaissance. Over 50 years Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III gathered together almost all the works for which the gallery is famous and for which Gottfried Semper designed the appropriate setting in 1854.
Photo credits: © All pictures BKB Verlag GmbH except Dresden (DRS) international Airport: fotolia.com, copyright: cirquedesprit, Foto-ID #42995577; steam locomotive: fotolia.com, copyright: Mail Zeuge, Foto-ID #16700051;