Dresden

Originally founded on the site of a Slavonic fishing village on the river Elbe, Dresden grew to become the seat of local government and a thriving mercantile settlement. From the 15th century onwards it was the residence of the Saxon dukes, princes and kings- and remains the capital of the Saxony State. Generally regarded as one of Germany's most beautiful cities, Dresden was a Baroque city- due to extensive building work commissioned by Fredrich August I (Augustus the Strong), the Polish King, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Dresden quickly became renowned for its artistic and architectural accomplishments, and for this reason it became an important cultural and artistic centre. The founding of the German Empire in 1871 saw Dresden take its place as the Empire's fourth largest city. It retained its progressive reputation and cultural tradition even after the National Socialist party came to power in 1933- although the brutal suppression of all political opposition, coupled with the 'deportation' of the city's large Jewish population inevitably took their toll on the city's character. Until the night of February 13th, 1945, however, Dresden was largely untouched by bomb damage and the war.

Over a period of three days, Dresden was subjected to the most savage saturation bombing that was to be seen until the Vietnam War. The city centre was virtually erased from existence- over 35, 000 people were killed in the firestorm that consumed it. This figure became much higher with the chaos that followed. Dresden had been packed with refugees fleeing the advancing Red Army. In May, the city fell to the Soviets.

Reconstruction started soon after; - for several years, this involved simply clearing away the estimated 18 million cubic metres of rubble the city's centre was buried beneath. Re-building began in the 50's and continued throughout the existence of the GDR- with residential and representative buildings along with selected monuments, such as the Zwinger (the former city's baroque centrepiece), Court Church, Johanneum, Albertinum, the Royal Mews and, in 1985, the Semper Opera House. This was accomplished however, at the cost of many other valuable monuments, which were demolished completely. For the most part, as well, the Communist reconstruction had a decidedly industrial bent- with factories and grey concrete housing blocks becoming the city's most prominent feature.

In 1989, with the unification of Germany and downfall of the GDR, extensive rebuilding work was commissioned to restore the city to some of its former glory. Today, Dresden is still a far cry from the Baroque city of culture and progressive arts of old, but has taken significant steps away from the crumbling concrete façade of East European communism that it became associated with in the post war years. Examples of old style architecture can be found in the many restored monuments, as well as areas such as the Neustadt- a planned baroque 'town' on the other side of the Elbe to the city centre; now a fashionable district with many of the town's best bars and restaurants. All too often however, these sights sit uneasily next to the grey blocks of communist rule. Unfortunately, as with much of old East Germany, Dresden also suffers from a noticeable economic discrepancy compared to the west. Local industry has not weathered the storm well, and unemployment is particularly high. This, combined with antagonism towards the growing Turkish immigrant population, has led to a sharp swing to the right in local politics.

The following links provide scene-setting photography of local landmarks, maps and more detailed history.

On-line Guide to Dresden

Dresden On-line

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