Brühl's Terrace (german: Brühlsche Terrasse) is a historic architectural ensemble in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe", the terrace stretches high above the shore of the river

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. Located north of the recently rebuilt Neumarkt Square and the Frauenkirche, is one of the favourite inner-city places of both locals and

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

s for walking,

people watching People-watching or crowd watching is the act of observing people and their interactions as a subconscious doing. It involves picking up on idiosyncrasies to try to interpret or guess at another person's story, interactions, and relationships with ...

, and having a coffee.

History and character

The present-day terrace was part of the city's fortifications, rebuilt upon the 1546/47

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

at the behest of Elector

Maurice of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity. ...

and his successors

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. The name Brühl's Terrace is a reference to Count

Heinrich von Brühl Heinrich, count von Brühl ( pl, Henryk Brühl, 13 August 170028 October 1763), was a Polish-Saxon statesman at the court of Saxony and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a member of the powerful German von Brühl family. The incumbency of ...

, Minister of Elector Frederick Augustus II, who from 1737 had a city palace with a gallery, a library and adjacent gardens built on the location. In 1747 the whole terrace was given to him by the Saxon elector as a gift for the innovative introduction of a betterment tax. Dresden-Staendehaus-sunset

After the Saxon defeat at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

and the occupation by

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

troops, military governor Prince Nikolai Grigorjevich Repnin-Volkonski ordered the opening to the public in 1814. He charged the architect

Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer (23 October 1775 - 11 February 1842) was a German representative of neoclassical architecture. Life and artwork Education and early work Thormeyer was born in the Protestant Kreuzkirche parish, Dresden. He started to ...

with the building of a flight of stairs at the western end to reach the terrace from

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Square and

Augustus Bridge The Augustus Bridge is a bridge in the city of Dresden, in the state Saxony in Germany. Crossing the river Elbe, the road bridge connects the Innere Neustadt in the north (right bank) with the historic city centre to the south (left bank). The ...

. The Brühl Palace was demolished in the course of the building of the Saxon ''Ständehaus'' in 1900. Dresden Kunstakademie Frauenkirche

The ensemble was totally destroyed in February 1945 when the city centre was heavily hit by the Allied

Bombing of Dresden The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Roya ...

during the end phase of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Today, it has been rebuilt; the precise amount restored is difficult to say as a percentage, but in general one can say the emsemble looks very much the same today as it did in the past. Today, Brühl's Terrace is again one of the main city landmarks besides the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady),

Dresden Castle Dresden Castle or Royal Palace (german: Dresdner Residenzschloss or ) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and List of rulers of Saxony, kings (1806–1918) o ...

, the Hofkirche and buildings on Theatre Square such as the

Zwinger "" () is a German word for outer ward or outer bailey. It represents an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the post-classical and early modern periods to improve the defence ...

and the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

, which are all located in the vicinity. At the ''Bärenzwinger'' students' club near the monument for

Johann Friedrich Böttger Johann Friedrich Böttger (also Böttcher or Böttiger; 4 February 1682 – 13 March 1719) was a German alchemist. Böttger was born in Schleiz and died in Dresden. He is normally credited with being the first European to discover the secret of th ...

, one can see a fingerprint in a guard rail of the terrace garden. This dactylogram is said to be proof of the strength of

Augustus the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

, who is said to have left the mark - but is only one of many myths surrounding August, such as the legend that he fathered 365 children.

Architectural parts of the terrace

Most people enter the terrace from the Schlossplatz (Castle Square) on the west end of the terrace. Besides

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

a staircase with four sculptures (''The Four Times of Day'') leads from the Schlossplatz (Castle Square) up to Brühl's Terrace. One of the next buildings to the right is the Academy of Fine Arts. There is an ensemble of important buildings, such as the

Albertinum The Albertinum () is a modern art museum. The sandstone-clad Renaissance Revival building is located on Brühl's Terrace in the historic center of Dresden, Germany. It is named after King Albert of Saxony. The Albertinum hosts the New Masters G ...

. * Sächsisches Ständehaus by

Paul Wallot Johann Paul Wallot (26 June 1841 Oppenheim am Rhein – 10 August 1912 Bad Schwalbach) was a German architect of Huguenot descent, best known for designing the Reichstag building in Berlin, erected between 1884 and 1894. He also built the adjacent ...

* Sekundogenitur *

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

* Jungfernbastei (Belvederehügel) * Moritzmonument * Bärenzwinger basement vault * Hofgärtnerhaus *

* Delphinbrunnen * Staircase by

Statues of Note

* Ludwig Richter *

Ernst Rietschel Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel (15 December 180421 January 1861) was a German sculptor. Life Rietschel was born in Pulsnitz in Saxony the third child of Friedrich Ehrgott Rietschel and his wife Caroline. From the age of 20 he became an art ...

Johannes Schilling Johannes Schilling (23 June 1828 in Mittweida – 21 March 1910 in Klotzsche near Dresden) was a German sculptor. Life and work Johannes Schilling was the youngest of five children. A year after his birth, his family moved to Dresden, where he g ...

Gottfried Semper Gottfried Semper (; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in ...

* The "Four Times of the Day" group (''Vier Tageszeiten'') by

The balconies of Europe and of Dresden

Brühl's Terrace is known as the "Balcony of Europe", a name which was first thought up and used at the beginning of the 19th century and which since then has been used in all kinds of literature. The name "Balcony of Dresden", on the other hand, is more regionally used for a tower six kilometers further to the East on a slope by the

Loschwitz Loschwitz is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Dresden, Germany, incorporated in 1921. It consists of ten quarters (''Stadtteile''): Loschwitz is a villa quarter located at the slopes north of the Elbe river. At the top of the hillside is the quar ...

, an area known for expensive living.

External links

Dresden wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruhl's Terrace Dresden Tourist attractions in Dresden Pedestrian streets in Germany