Dresden
Dresden (
Sorbian: Drježdźany; etymologically from old sorbian
Drežďany meaning
people of the riverside forest) is the
capital city of the
German Federal State of
Saxony and situated in a valley on the
River Elbe. The city's population is 490,000 (2006) and the population in its
agglomeration is 1.1 million. Dresden is part of the
metropolitan area Saxon Triangle with a population of over 3.2 million.
|
A view of Dresden. From left to right: Brühl's Terrace; the Hofkirche and the castle; the Semper Opera House. |
Dresden has a long history as capital and Royal residence for the
Kings of Saxony with centuries of extraordinary cultural and artistic splendor. The controversial
Bombing of Dresden in World War II and 40 years of
GDR changed the face of the city dramatically.
Since German re-unification Dresden has been an important cultural, political, and economic center in the Eastern part of the Federal Republic of
Germany.
Dresden is located at , in the southeastern corner of eastern Germany; about two hours south of Germany's capital,
Berlin, and about two hours north of
Prague, capital of the
Czech Republic. About an hour northwest of Dresden is
Leipzig, another big city in Saxony.
Unlike many large cities in Germany, which feature a clearly defined
inner city, Dresden has several important centers of social and economic activity spread throughout the city's area. Often seen as an important culture center, it is called the "
Florence of the Elbe" (
Elbflorenz in German) because of that.
Dresden is also an important center of the sciences and is home to many researchers. The city is often called the "
Silicon Valley of Germany" because numerous computer hardware and hi-tech development firms have opened offices and research facilities in the region. The
Dresden University of Technology, is one of the world's oldest technical universities.
Because of its location in a relatively narrow river valley, Dresden's climate is much more characteristic of southern Germany and is considerably warmer than most other places in eastern Germany. In
2002 Dresden was listed as one of
Europe's greenest (large) cities: a third of its area is covered by the forested areas called
Dresdner Heide. The
Großer Garten ("Great Garden") is the largest urban park in the city.
Before the bombing raid of
World War II, Dresden with its unmatched collection of baroque architecture was famous as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The style of architecture that predominated under
August I of Saxony is known as
Dresden Baroque. The city area also reportedly had in some quarters the highest living costs in Europe before World War II. Many of the city's greatest monuments were rebuilt in the decades following the war; this process was given new impetus and funding after the reunification of Germany in 1990. The city now once again features a wealth of tourist attractions. The major sights of Dresden include:
|
View from Elbe river slopes. |
*
Semper Opera House*
Zwinger Baroque buildings enclosing a picturesque garden courtyard including the
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister ("old masters' picture gallery")
*
Dresden Frauenkirche Protestant Baroque church
*
Katholische Hofkirche Roman Catholic Church
*
Dresden castle, including the
Grünes Gewölbe, the "Green Vault" where the Saxon Crown Jewels are displayed
* The
Albertinum museum, including the
Galerie Neue Meister ("new masters' gallery") and the sculpture collection (closed due to reconstruction).
* Broad River Meadows
*
Brühl's Terrace " nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe" " a terrace overlooking the
Elbe river.
* world's biggest and oldest
paddle steamer fleet, the
White Fleet* The
Fürstenzug (procession of princes) fresco showing the
Wettin dynasty
* Large castles:
** Fortress
Festung Königstein**
Moritzburg hunting lodge
**
Pillnitz Palace, Schloß Eckberg, Albrechtsberg (castles)
**
Meissen* villa quarters like
Blasewitz, Klotzsche, Preußisches Viertel, Wachwitz, Kleinzschachwitz, Weißer Hirsch, Südvorstadt, Wiener Viertel, Strehlen, Waldschlößchenviertel, Großer Garten, Laubegast, Bühlaupark, Bürgerwiese, Striesen, Plauen, Bühlau, Hellerau, Johannstadt, Tolkewitz, Neugruna, Pillnitz and Radebeul.
* Europe's largest
Dixieland music festival (taking place in May each year)
* The oldest German Christmas Fair, the
Striezelmarkt (only around Christmas, Dresdner Christ
stollen, Christmas pyramid toys e.g.)
* Large number of technical and art
museums, including the famous
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Many of these hold world records in collection sizes, just as an example the biggest porcelain collection of the world can be found in the
Zwinger.
** The German military history museum (with exhibits dating back to the
Stone Age)
*
Blue Wonder historic bridge considered a "wonder" of
19th century engineering
*
Schwebebahn Dresden an aerial cable car similar to the
Schwebebahn Wuppertal *
Standseilbahn Dresden " the funicular cable railway in Dresden.
*
Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwitz " TV Tower of Dresden. Unfortunately the observation deck is closed.
* The
Transparent Factory,
Volkswagen's luxury car assembly plant with a glass exterior opened in
2002*
Yenidze, a former cigarette factory looking like a mosqueNearby, at a higher elevation, are the villages Bannewitz and Rundteil at the foot of the
Erzgebirge mountains. In the northeast is the Bühlau quarter; in the east Kleinzschachwitz, another villa quarter. More east is
Saxon Switzerland, a large prime climbing destination.
Meißen is situated to the west of Dresden, most famous for the invention as well as production of European
porcelain.
Nature and environs
Much of the city lies in the Elbe valley which is endowed with a favourable, mild, relatively warm climate. However, some outer suburbs are situated on the more elevated hill country in which this valley has been carved by the river, as for example the once independent city of Klotzsche, where the airport and the most important meteorological station of Dresden is located:
Early and pre-war history
 |
The Fürstenzug " the Saxon sovereigns |
An ancient
Slavic settlement known as
Drežďany ("
alluvial forest dwellers") on the northern bank of the river was joined in
1206 by a German town on the southern bank, the heart of the present day
Altstadt ("old town"), while the Slavic part is called Neustadt ("new town"). Founder of the city was
Dietrich of Meißen,
Margrave of
Meißen.
Since
1270, starting with
Henry the Illustrious, Dresden became the capital of the margravate. After the death of the former, however, the city became property of the
King of Bohemia and , later, the Margrave of the
Brandenburg. It was restored to the
Wettin dynasty about
1319. From
1485 it was the seat of the
dukes of Saxony, and from
1547 the
electors as well.
From
1697-
1706 and
1709-
1733 Elector Frederick Augustus I ruled from Dresden as King
August the Strong of
Poland; the city is also known as
Drezno in Poland. Because he planned to make Dresden the most important royal residence, Augustus set out to discover the
Chinese secret of
porcelain (‘white gold'); under his rule, European porcelain was invented in Dresden and Meißen. He gathered many of the best
architects and
painters from all over Europe to Dresden; the city also experienced a vibrant blossoming of musical life at this time, particularly under the direction of
Johann Adolph Hasse. His reign marked the beginning of Dresden's emergence as a leading European city for technology and art. His son Frederick August II also reigned from Dresden as
Augustus III of Poland from
1734-
1763: during his reign the city was seat of a
treaty that ended the
Second Silesian War, and suffered heavy destructions in the
Seven Years' War (
1756-1763).
Between
1806 and
1918 it was the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony (which was from
1871 a part of the
German Empire). During the
Napoleonic Wars the
French emperor made it his base of operation, winning here a famous
battle on
August 27 of that year.
During the
19th century, the city became a major center of industry, including automobile production, food processing, and the production of medical equipment. The city also developed into an important center for the international sale of art works and antiques. The city's population quadrupled from 95,000 in
1849 to 396,000 in
1900 as a result of industrialization.
In the early
20th century Dresden was particularly well-known for its camera works, such as
Ihagee and Pentacon, which produced the
Praktica , and the cigarette factories, one of which was in the impressive
Yenidze, a building with a multicoloured glass roof shaped like a mosque which still stands today.
The city has suffered repeated destruction: by fire in
1491, from bombardment by the
Kingdom of Prussia in
1760, and during the suppression of the
constitutionalist May Uprising in
1849 and the destructive Allied bombing raid of February
1945.
World War II
 |
Taken from the city hall: 79% of all dwellings in the city were either destroyed totally or were damaged, with the inner-city buildings faring the worst; the center became a sea of ruins. |
Main article: Bombing of Dresden in World War II
Dresden was not the only German city devastated by
World War II bombing, but the bombing of Dresden in 1945 has become one of the most controversial events of that war. It was carpet-bombed on the early hours of Valentine's Day, 13-14 February 1945. The Altstadt ("old town") side of the
Elbe River full of its historical cultural treasures was the most damaged, and left smoldering. Because the raging fires stopped at the river, the newer Neustadt ("new town") became the older side of modern-day Dresden sustaining less damage. In hindsight, it is clear that the end of the war was approaching. At the time, however, Allied forces had only recently regrouped from a German counteroffensive.
The city was not particularly well defended, because as a European cultural center with relatively little industry, it was not regarded to be important strategically. Early in the war it had been considered too distant for the
Allied bombers to reach in safety, but even when it had been bombed the majority of Dresden's anti-aircraft defences were redeployed elsewhere in Germany.
Dresden's reputation for culture is better known than its highly developed optics industry (
Carl Zeiss later
Praktica), which produced precision aiming devices during the war. In addition many peacetime factories, such as the cigarette factories, had been converted to ammunition factories as part of the policy of "
total war". These factories employed mainly local workers but also used Jewish slave labour. Some 300 Jews were kept slave laborers at a camp in Dresden, of these the majority were killed before the war ended, along with almost all of the 6,000 Jews who lived in Dresden before the war (a famous survivor was Dresden native and writer
Victor Klemperer). However these targets were not the main reason for the city being bombed. The
Red Army was approaching from the East and Dresden was one of two key rail routes with
marshalling yards. Although key industrial facilities were destroyed by the bombing (much of their capacity was quickly restored), the main goal of the "area bombing" was to create a
firestorm (an objective inspired by the
Luftwaffe's raids on
Coventry,
Bath and
London but refined by
Britain's
Royal Air Force).
Civilian death estimates vary wildly largely as a result of propaganda figures which received widespread publicity at the time, however the most recently available evidence from Friedrich Reichart of Dresden City Museum points to 25,000 deaths, which is less than the number that died in
Hamburg, but Dresden was a smaller city. Numbers between 25,000 " 140,000 have been used in official statistics, with the Communist authorities of Dresden increasing their estimates across time; estimates in Nazi Germany by the Ministry of Propaganda varied between 350,000 and 400,000. At that time, Dresden's population was 600,000, but up to 200,000 refugees were living in cramped apartments and passing through Dresden as the Russians were now only fifty miles away. The entire inner city (15 square kilometres) was utterly devastated, and other quarters were damaged to some degree, the many villa quarters, however, on average much less than others.
Many of the higher estimates are based on a fake TB47 report (which has been visibly altered by the simple expedient of adding a zero to the end of the totals). However the West German Federal Archive in Koblenz discovered a genuine copy of TB47. The official "Final Report and Situation (TB47)" produced by Reich Commander of the Order Police a month after the bombings. "TB47" is probably a reasonable guide to the order of casualty numbers. It states definite figures of between 18,000 and 22,000 with estimates of final numbers of 25,000 and includes the interesting sentence "Since rumours far exceed the reality, open use can be made of the actual figures."
While some think that the bombing of Dresden was a tragic occurrence that Nazi Germany brought upon itself, others feel it should be treated as a war crime. Others see it as a necessary military action taken to support the Red Army, althougth there were no military facilities in Dresden. Fortunately, much of the city's beauty has been restored, thanks to the zeal of the populace in recreating the architecture of ‘old Dresden'. Today Dresden has a strong partnership with the English city
Coventry, which was heavily damaged by German air attacks. The camaraderie is deeply supported by the populace in both cities.
|
The city and the River Elbe |
Post-war period (communist rule)
After the Second World War, Dresden became a major industrial center in
socialist East Germany with a great deal of research infrastructure. Many important historic buildings were rebuilt, although the communists leaders of the city chose to reconstruct large areas of the city in a bland socialist modern style for economical and ideological reasons, namely to break away from the city's past as the royal capital of Saxony and a stronghold of the German bourgeoisie. However, some of the bombed-out ruins of churches were razed by Soviet authorities in the
1960s instead of being repaired. Among East Germans, Dresden also earned the nickname "the valley of the clueless" because the city's location in a valley prevented its residents from watching West German TV, an illegal but popular pastime among East Germans. On
3 October 1989, (the so-called "battle of Dresden"), a convoy of trains carrying East German refugees from
Prague passed through Dresden on its way to
West Germany. Local activists and residents, joined in the growing civil disobedience movement spreading across East Germany by staging demonstrations and demanding the removal of the undemocratically-elected communist government.
Post-reunification
|
Dresden also became a major city of government, tourism and congresses |
|
Summer open-air cinema by the Elbe; in the background, Brühl's Terrace, the Hofkirche and the Opera. |
Dresden has experienced dramatic changes since the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s. The city still has many of its wounds from the bombing raids of 1945 but Dresden has undergone significant reconstruction in recent years. The most important urban renewal/reconstruction project was the reconstruction of the
Frauenkirche ("Church of Our Lady") and the surrounding Neumarkt district. The church, once the city's symbol and considered the world's finest Protestant church, was rebuilt following German reunification in
1991 from the remaining pile of rubble of the original church's ruins thanks to private and corporate donations. It was completed in 2005, a year before Dresden's 800th birthday. The new Frauenkirche was rebuilt according to historical drawings and photographs and is now open to public service since
Reformation Day 2005. Despite the inner city's almost total destruction in World War II, many areas in the central city have been restored to their former glory. The urban renewal process in Dresden will continue for many decades but public and government interest remains high and there are numerous large budget projects underway " both historic reconstructions and modern plans " that will continue the city's recent architectural renaissance.
In
1990 Dresden"an important industrial centre of East Germany"had to struggle with the economic collapse of the Soviet Union and the other export markets in eastern Europe. East Germany had been the richest Communist country but was faced with competition from western Germany after reunification. After 1990 a completely new
law and
currency system was introduced in the wake of Communism's downfall, and eastern Germany's infrastructure was largely rebuilt with funds from western Germany. Dresden as a major urban center has developed much faster and more consistently than most other regions in the former East Germany, but the city still faces many social and economic problems which stem from the collapse of the communist system, including high unemployment levels. Many of the industries that made Dresden rich before the Second World War and disappeared under communism have resettled in the city including the optical industry, the high quality foodstuffs industries, and the watchmaking industries (including the
Glashütte brand). The city has also attracted many new firms to the region (including
AMD,
Motorola, Toppan Photomasks,
Infineon Technologies,
net-linx and
EADS).
Volkswagen is currently manufacturing its
Phaeton car model and the
Bentley "flying spur" model at a modern factory located in central Dresden, delivered by city tramway.
In
2002, torrential rains caused the
Elbe to flood 9 m, past its
1845 record height, damaging many landmarks (See
2002 European flood). The destruction from this "millennium flood" is no longer visible, due to the rapidity of reconstruction. Disaster relief for the millennial flood came from around the world.
In
2004 the United Nation's cultural organization
UNESCO declared Dresden and the surrounding section of Elbe river valley to be a "World Heritage" site.
Dresden remains a major cultural center of historical memory, owing to the city's destruction in
World War II. Every year on
13 February, the anniversary of the major British fire-bombing raid that destroyed most of the city, tens of thousands of demonstrators gather to commemorate the event. Similar ceremonies held during the period of
communism were specifically directed at demonizing the Western
Allies, above all the
United States. Since reunification, the tone of the ceremonies has taken on a more neutral and pacifist tone. In recent years, however,
right-wing extremist skinheads have tried to instrumentalize the event for their own political ends. Affiliated with the radical right
National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), they cite the bombing of Dresden in order to portray Germans as the real victims of the Second World War, and try to take advantage of
anti-American sentiment to do it. In 2005, Dresden was host to the largest
Neo-Nazi demonstration in the post-war history of Germany. Between five and eight thousand Neo-Nazis took part, mourning for the victims of what they call the
Allied bomb-
holocaust (German:
Alliierter Bombenholocaust).
Dresden is home to a number of renowned universities:
*
Dresden University of Technology with almost 35.000 students (
2004), founded in
1828, is one of the oldest and largest technical universities in Germany.
*
The University of Applied Sciences Dresden, founded in
1992, with 5.000 students (
2005).
*
The Dresden Academy of Art, founded in
1764, known for its former professors and artists like
George Grosz,
Sascha Schneider,
Otto Dix,
Oskar Kokoschka,
Canaletto,
Carl-Gustav Carus,
Caspar David Friedrich and
Gerhard Richter.
*
The Palucca School of Dance, founded by
Gret Palucca in
1925.
*
University of Music - Carl Maria von Weber, founded in
1856.
*Other universities include the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik, a school specializing on church music, the Evangelische Hochschule fuer Sozial Arbeit, the Fachhochschule der Wirtschaft and the Offizierschule des Heeres. The Dresden International University is a private foundation, postgradual, university, founded few years ago in cooperation with the Dresden University of Technology; most students there have to prove some years of successful practise. The Palucca Dance School is the only college of Fine Arts in Germany devoted exclusively to the academic study of dance.
Moreover, Dresden hosts many world-class research institutes:
*
Fraunhofer Society: Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Sintered Materials IKTS, Fraunhofer Institute for Electron and Plasma Technology FEP,
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS (developers of the
MP3 audio format), Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS, Fraunhofer Center Nanoelectronic Technologies CNT, Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, Fraunhofer Applications Center for Processing Machinery and Packaging Technology AVV, Fraunhofer Institute for Transport and Infrastructure Systems IVI as well as branches of other Fraunhofer Institutes headquartered elsewhere in Germany.
*
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, MPI for Chemical Physics of Solids and MPI for the Physics of Complex Systems.
*Leibniz Gemeinschaft: IÖR " Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development, IPF " Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, IFW " Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research and FZR " Research Centre Rossendorf.
Along with its twin city
Coventry, Dresden was the first city to twin with a foreign city. The two cities became twins after World War II in an act of reconciliation as both had been nearly destroyed by bombing during the war.
*
Coventry,
United Kingdom, since 1959
*
Saint Petersburg,
Russia, since 1961
*
Wrocław,
Poland, since 1963
*
Skopje,
FYR Macedonia, since 1967
*
Ostrava,
Czech Republic, since 1971
*
Brazzaville,
Congo, since 1975
*
Florence,
Italy, since 1978
*
Hamburg,
Germany, since 1987
*
Rotterdam,
Netherlands, since 1988
*
Strasbourg,
France, since 1990
*
Salzburg,
Austria, since 1991
*
Columbus,
Ohio,
USA, since 1992
Image:Canaletto (I) 016.jpg|Bernardo Bellotto (Canaletto): Zwingerhof (Backyard of the Zwinger from the perspective of the fortress, 1752)
Image:Carl_Gustav_Carus_001.jpg|Carl Gustav Carus: View at Dresden from the Bruehl-Terrace (Blick auf Dresden von der Bruehlschen Terrasse, 1830/31)
Image:Caspar_David_Friedrich_007.jpg|Caspar David Friedrich: The big enclosure (Das grosse Gehege, 1832)
Image:1956-GerhardRichter-Stadtbild.jpg| Gerhard Richter: View on the city of Dresden (Stadtbild, 1956)*
Official homepage of the city*
Dresden International Airport*
Semper opera house*
Dresden City Panoramas " Panoramic Views and virtual Tours
*
Official incoming service*
Dresden University of Technology*
The State of Saxony*
CityMap of Dresden*
Dixieland Jazz Festival*
Congress Centre*
Radebeul " Home of Karl May and wine town very near Dresden
*
Saxon Switzerland and the National Park (en)
*
Saxon Switzerland*
World's biggest fleet of paddle steamers
*
German Hygiene Museum*
Livecam Dresden Use your mouse to sway to the left and right
*
3D-Dresden-Panorama-sight*
Saxon Christmas site*
At the Theaterplatz*
Over the CarolabrückeDresden: Tuesday, 13 February, 1945 by Frederick Taylor, 2005; ISBN 0747570841
Dresden and the Heavy Bombers: An RAF Navigator's Perspective by Frank Musgrove, 2005; ISBN 1844151948
Return to Dresden by Maria Ritter, 2004; ISBN 1578065968
Dresden: Heute/Today by Dieter Zumpe, 2003; ISBN 3791328603
Destruction of Dresden by David Irving, 1972; ISBN 0345230329
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, 1970; ISBN 0586033289
La tutela del patrimonio culturale in caso di conflitto Fabio Maniscalco (editor), 2002; ISBN 8887835187
