Dresden, the capital city of state Saxony, Germany, stands out by its cultural wealth consisting of musical, artistic, architectural and sculptural masterpieces. Cityscape of the city is formed by architecture of Baroque, Renaissance and nineteenth century contrasting with modern districts with cafes, workshops and galleries of artists. Because of the similarity of Dresden’s glorious architecture to the Italian style the center of Saxony is often called Florence on Elbe.
Dresden’s architecture consists of museums, palaces, churches and halls. One of those is the remarkable concert hall Semperoper, which has been projected by architect Gottfried Semper and is considered the musical center of the city.
Another example of Dresden’s architecture is Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), a Lutheran church built in the 18th century under August II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, who has made great contribution to Dresden’s architectural culture.
The church was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during World War II, and the remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial following decisions of local East German leaders. The rebuilding project of the church has started after the reunification of Germany and was finished in 2005.
Not far from the Frauenkirche is the Fürstenzug (Procession of Princes), a large mural of a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony, including August II the Strong.
Another construction under August II the Strong is the Zwinger, a palace built in Rococo style and designed by court architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. It served as the orangery, exhibition gallery and festival arena of the Dresden Court. Today, the Zwinger is a museum complex that contains the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery), the Dresden Porcelain Collection (Dresdener Porzellansammlung) and the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon (Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments).
Dresden holds a vast collection of works of German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian artists which can be seen in such halls as Albertinum, a modern art and sculpture museum named after King Albert of Saxony, and Lipsius-Bau gallery.
One of the upcoming halls is the former thermal power plant in the center of Dresden, which is being reconstructed to host Dresden’s Operetta theater as well as to become a place of culture and art.
