Dresden (, ;

Upper Saxon Upper Saxon (german: Obersächsisch, ; ) is an East Central German language spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it's m ...

: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=

Upper Sorbian Upper Sorbian (), occasionally referred to as "Wendish", is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in Germany in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, which is today part of Saxony. It is grouped in the West Slavic language branch, together ...

, 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 largest by area (after Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne), and the third most populous city in the area of former East Germany, after Berlin and Leipzig. Dresden's urban area comprises the towns of Freital, Pirna, Radebeul,

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

, Coswig, Radeberg and Heidenau and has around 790,000 inhabitants. The Dresden metropolitan area has approximately 1.34 million inhabitants. Dresden is the second largest city on the River Elbe after Hamburg. Most of the city's population lives in the Elbe Valley, but a large, albeit very sparsely populated area of the city east of the Elbe lies in the West Lusatian Hill Country and Uplands (the westernmost part of the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ; pl, Sudety; german: Sudeten; cs, Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consis ...

) and thus in Lusatia. Many boroughs west of the Elbe lie in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, as well as in the valleys of the rivers rising there and flowing through Dresden, the longest of which are the Weißeritz and the Lockwitzbach. The name of the city as well as the names of most of its boroughs and rivers are of Sorbian origin. Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and

Kings of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendor, and was once by personal union the family seat of

Polish monarchs Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and rococo city centre. The controversial American and British bombing of Dresden in World War II towards the end of the war killed approximately 25,000 people, many of whom were civilians, and destroyed the entire city centre. After the war, restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the historic inner city. Since

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990, Dresden has again become a cultural, educational and political centre of Germany. The Dresden University of Technology is one of the 10 largest universities in Germany and part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative. The economy of Dresden and its agglomeration is one of the most dynamic in Germany and ranks first in Saxony. It is dominated by high-tech branches, often called " Silicon Saxony". According to the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) and

Berenberg Bank Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, commonly known as Berenberg Bank and also branded as simply Berenberg, is a multinational full-service investment bank based in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded by the Flemish Berenberg family in 1590 () and ...

in 2019, Dresden had the seventh best prospects for the future of all cities in Germany. Dresden is one of the most visited cities in Germany with 4.7 million overnight stays per year. Its most prominent building is the Frauenkirche located at the Neumarkt. Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed during World War II. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial, before being rebuilt between 1994 and 2005. Other famous landmarks include the Zwinger, the Semperoper and the Dresden Castle. Furthermore, the city is home to the renowned

Dresden State Art Collections Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (, ''Dresden State Art Collections'') is a cultural institution in Dresden, Germany, owned by the State of Saxony. It is one of the most renowned and oldest museum institutions in the world, originating from the ...

, originating from the collections of the Saxon electors in the 16th century. Dresden's Striezelmarkt is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany and is considered the first genuine Christmas market in the world. Nearby sights include the National Park of Saxon Switzerland, the Ore Mountains and the countryside around Elbe Valley and

Moritzburg Castle Moritzburg Castle (german: Schloss Moritzburg) or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque palace in Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical art ...

History

Although Dresden is a relatively recent city that grew from a Slavic village after Germans came to dominate the area,. Retrieved 24 April 2007. the area had been settled in the Neolithic era by

Linear Pottery culture The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Inci ...

tribes c.

7500 BC 75 may refer to: * 75 (number) * one of the years 75 BC, AD 75, 1875 CE, 1975 CE, 2075 CE * ''75'' (album), an album by Joe Zawinul * M75 (disambiguation), including "Model 75" * Highway 75, see List of highways numbered 75 * Alfa Romeo 7 ...

. Dresden's founding and early growth is associated with the eastward expansion of Germanic peoples, mining in the nearby Ore Mountains, and the establishment of the

Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate of Meissen (german: Markgrafschaft Meißen) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of bor ...

. Its name etymologically derives from Old Sorbian ''Drežďany'', meaning "people of the forest", from Proto-Slavic ''*dręzga'' ("dense forest") from ''*drězgà'' ("murky space"). Dresden later evolved into the capital of Saxony.

Early history

Around the late 12th century, a Sorbian settlement called ''Drežďany''Fritz Löffler, ''Das alte Dresden'', Leipzig 1982, p.20 (meaning either "woods" or "lowland forest-dweller") had developed on the southern bank. Another settlement existed on the northern bank, but its Slavic name is unknown. It was known as ''Antiqua Dresdin'' by 1350, and later as Altendresden, both literally "old Dresden".

Dietrich, Margrave of Meissen Theodoric I (11 March 1162 – 18 February 1221), called the Oppressed (''Dietrich der Bedrängte''), was the Margrave of Meissen from 1198 until his death. He was the second son of Otto II, Margrave of Meissen and Hedwig of Brandenburg. Bio ...

, chose Dresden as his interim residence in 1206, as documented in a record calling the place "Civitas Dresdene". After 1270, Dresden became the capital of the margraviate. It was given to Friedrich Clem after death of Henry the Illustrious in 1288. It was taken by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1316 and was restored to the Wettin dynasty after the death of Valdemar the Great in 1319. From 1485, it was the seat of the dukes of Saxony, and from 1547 the electors as well.

Early-modern age

The

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

and ruler of Saxony Frederick Augustus I became King Augustus II the Strong of Poland in 1697. He gathered many of the best musicians, architects and painters from all over Europe to Dresden. His reign marked the beginning of Dresden's emergence as a leading European city for technology and art. During the reign of Kings Augustus II the Strong and

Augustus III of Poland Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Aug ...

most of the city's

landmarks were built. These include the Zwinger Royal Palace, the

Japanese Palace The Japanisches Palais (English: "Japanese Palace") is a Baroque building in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. It is located on the Neustadt bank of the river Elbe. History Built in 1715, it was extended from 1729 until 1731 to house the Japanese po ...

, the Taschenbergpalais, the Pillnitz Castle and the two landmark churches: the Catholic Hofkirche and the Lutheran Frauenkirche. In addition, significant art collections and museums were founded. Notable examples include the

Dresden Porcelain Collection The Dresden Porcelain Collection (german: Porzellansammlung) is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (State Art Collections) of Dresden, Germany. It is located in the Zwinger Palace. History The collection was founded in 1715 by the Saxon ...

, the

Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs The Kupferstich-Kabinett (English: Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs) is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (State Art Collections) of Dresden, Germany. Since 2004 it has been located in Dresden Castle.Grünes Gewölbe and the

Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon The Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon (, ''Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments'') in Dresden, Germany, is a museum of historic clocks and scientific instruments. Its holdings include terrestrial and celestial globes, astronom ...

. In 1726 there was a riot for two days after a Protestant clergyman was killed by a soldier who had recently converted from Catholicism. In 1745, the Treaty of Dresden between Prussia, Saxony, and Austria ended the

Second Silesian War The Second Silesian War (german: Zweiter Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1744 to 1745 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland). The war was fough ...

. Only a few years later, Dresden suffered heavy destruction in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), following its capture by Prussian forces, its subsequent re-capture, and a failed Prussian siege in 1760.

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

completed his '' Ode to Joy'' (the literary base of the European anthem) in Dresden in 1785.

19th and early 20th century

In 1806, Dresden became the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony established by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. During the Napoleonic Wars the French Emperor made it a

base of operations Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

, winning there the

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

on 27 August 1813. As a result of the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Saxony became part of the German Confederation in 1815. Following the Polish uprisings of

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto establ ...

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

and

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaims t ...

many Poles fled to Dresden, among others composer

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

. Dresden itself was a centre of the

German Revolutions German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

in 1848 with the May Uprising, which cost human lives and damaged the historic town of Dresden. The uprising forced Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to flee from Dresden, but he soon after regained control over the city with the help of Prussia. In 1852, the population of Dresden grew to 100,000 inhabitants, making it one of the biggest cities within the German Confederation. As the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony, Dresden became part of the newly founded

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1871. In the following years, the city became a major centre of economy, including motor car production, food processing, banking and the manufacture of

medical equipment A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

. In the early 20th century, Dresden was particularly well known for its camera works and its cigarette factories. During World War I, the city did not suffer any war damage, but lost many of its inhabitants. Between 1918 and 1934, Dresden was the capital of the first Free State of Saxony as well as a cultural and economic centre of the Weimar Republic. The city was also a centre of European

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

until 1933. Dresdner_Maiaufstand

Military history

During the foundation of the German Empire in 1871, a large military facility called Albertstadt was built. It had a capacity of up to 20,000 military personnel at the beginning of the First World War. The garrison saw only limited use between 1918 and 1934, but was then reactivated in preparation for the Second World War. Its usefulness was limited by attacks on 13–15 February and 17 April 1945, the former of which destroyed large areas of the city. However, the garrison itself was not specifically targeted. including a list of all bombings on the railway network (especially towards Bohemia). Soldiers had been deployed as late as March 1945 in the Albertstadt garrison. The Albertstadt garrison became the headquarters of the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany after the war. Apart from the

German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

officers' school (''Offizierschule des Heeres''), there have been no more

military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...

s in Dresden since the army merger during German reunification, and the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1992. Nowadays, the Bundeswehr operates the Military History Museum of the Federal Republic of Germany in the former Albertstadt garrison.

Second World War

Fotothek df ps 0000010 Blick vom Rathausturm

During the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945, the Jewish community of Dresden was reduced from over 6,000 (7,100 people were persecuted as Jews) to 41, mostly as a result of emigration, but later also deportation and murder. Non-Jews were also targeted, and over 1,300 people were executed by the Nazis at the Münchner Platz, a courthouse in Dresden, including labour leaders, undesirables, resistance fighters and anyone caught listening to foreign radio broadcasts. The bombing stopped prisoners who were busy digging a large hole into which an additional 4,000 prisoners were to be disposed of. Dresden in the 20th century was a major communications hub and manufacturing centre with 127 factories and major workshops and was designated by the German military as a defensive strongpoint, with which to hinder the Soviet advance. Being the capital of the German state of Saxony, Dresden not only had garrisons but a whole ''military borough'', the ''Albertstadt''. This military complex, named after

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

King Albert, was not specifically targeted in the bombing of Dresden, though it was within the expected area of destruction and was extensively damaged. During the final months of the Second World War, Dresden harboured some 600,000 refugees, with a total population of . Dresden was attacked seven times between 1944 and 1945, and was occupied by the Red Army after the German capitulation. The bombing of Dresden by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between 13 and 15 February 1945 was controversial. On the night of 13–14 February 1945, 773 RAF Lancaster bombers dropped 1,181.6 tons of incendiary bombs and 1,477.7 tons of high explosive bombs, targeting the rail yards at the centre of the city. The inner city of Dresden was largely destroyed. The high explosive bombs damaged buildings and exposed their wooden structures, while the incendiaries ignited them, denying their use by retreating German troops and refugees. Widely quoted Nazi propaganda reports claimed 200,000 deaths, but the German

Dresden Historians' Commission 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 lar ...

, made up of 13 prominent German historians, in an official 2010 report published after five years of research concluded that casualties numbered between 18,000 and 25,000. The Allies described the operation as the legitimate bombing of a military and industrial target. Several researchers have argued that the February attacks were

disproportionate In chemistry, disproportionation, sometimes called dismutation, is a redox reaction in which one compound of intermediate oxidation state converts to two compounds, one of higher and one of lower oxidation states. More generally, the term can ...

. As a result of inadequate Nazi air raid measures for refugees, mostly women and children died. American author Kurt Vonnegut's novel '' Slaughterhouse Five'' is loosely based on his first-hand experience of the raid as a

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

. In remembrance of the victims, the anniversaries of the bombing of Dresden are marked with peace demonstrations, devotions and marches. The destruction of Dresden allowed Hildebrand Gurlitt, a major Nazi museum director and art dealer, to hide a large collection of artwork worth tens of millions of dollars that had been stolen during the Nazi era, as he claimed it had been destroyed along with his house which was located in Dresden.

Post-war

Following his military service the German press photographer and photojournalist

Richard Peter Richard Peter (10 May 1895 – 3 October 1977) was a German press photographer and photojournalist. He is best known for his photographs of Dresden just after the end of the Second World War. Life Richard Peter was born and raised in Klein ...

returned to Dresden and began to document the ruined city. Among his best known works ''Blick auf Dresden vom Rathausturm'' (''View of Dresden from the Rathus Tower''). It has become one of the best known photographs of a ruined post-war Germany following its appearance in 1949 in his book ''Dresden, eine Kamera klagt an'' ("Dresden, a photographic accusation", ). When a skeleton previously used as a model for drawing art classes was found in the ruins of the Dresden Art Academy the photographer Edmund Kesting with the assistance of Peter posed it in a number of different locations to produce a series of haunting photographic images to give the impression that Death was wandering through the city in search of the dead. Kesting subsequently published them in the book ''Dresdner Totentanz'' (''Dresden’s Death Dance''). The damage from the Allied air raids was so bad that following the end of the Second World War a narrow gauge light railway system was constructed to remove the debris, though being makeshift there were frequent derailments. This railway system which had seven lines, employed 5,000 staff and 40 locomotives, all of which bore women’s names. The last train remained in service until 1958, though the last official debris clearance team was only disbanded in 1977. Rather than repair them the German Democratic Republic (former East Germany) authorities razed the ruins of many churches, royal buildings and palaces in the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Gothic

Sophienkirche The Sophienkirche (Saint Sophia's Church) was a church in Dresden. It was located on the northeast corner of the Postplatz (post office square) in the old town before it was severely damaged in the Dresden bombing in 1945 and subsequently destr ...

, the Alberttheater and the Wackerbarth-Palais as well as many historic residential buildings. The surroundings of the once lively Prager Straße resembled a wasteland before it was rebuilt in the socialist style at the beginning of the 1960s. However compared to West Germany, the majority of historic buildings were saved. Among them were the Ständehaus (1946), the Augustusbrücke (1949), the Kreuzkirche (until 1955), the Zwinger (until 1963), the Catholic Court Church (until 1965), the Semperoper (until 1985), the Japanese Palace (until 1987) and the two largest train stations. Some of this work dragged on for decades often interrupted by the overall economic situation in the GDR. The ruins of the Frauenkirche were allowed to remain on Neumarkt as a memorial to the war. While the Theater and Schloßplatz were rebuilt in accordance with the historical model in 1990, the Neumarkt remained completely undeveloped. On the other hand buildings of socialist classicism and spatial design and orientation according to socialist ideals (e.g. Kulturpalast) were built at the Altmarkt. From 1955 to 1958, a large part of the art treasures looted by the Soviet Union was returned, which meant that from 1960 onwards many state art collections could be opened in reconstructed facilities or interim exhibitions. Important orchestras such as the Staatskapelle performed in alternative venues (for example in the Kulturpalast from 1969). Some cultural institutions were moved out of the city center (for example the state library in Albertstadt). The Outer Neustadt, which was almost undamaged during the war was threatened with demolition in the 1980s following years of neglect, but was preserved following public protests. To house the homeless large prefabricated housing estates were built on previously undeveloped land In Prohlis and Gorbitz. Damaged housing in the Johannstadt and other areas in the city center were demolished and replaced with large apartment blocks. The villa districts in Blasewitz, Striesen, Kleinzschachwitz, Loschwitz and on the Weißen Hirsch were largely preserved. Dresden became a major industrial centre in the German Democratic Republic (former East Germany) with a great deal of research infrastructure. It was the centre of Bezirk Dresden (Dresden District) between 1952 and 1990. Many of the city's important historic buildings were reconstructed, including the

Semper Opera House 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 ...

and the Zwinger Palace, although the city leaders chose to rebuild large areas of the city in a "socialist modern" style, partly for economic reasons, but also to break away from the city's past as the royal capital of Saxony and a stronghold of the German bourgeoisie. Until the end of the Cold War, the 1st Armored Guard Army of the Soviet Army and the 7th Panzer Division of the National People's Army were stationed in and around Dresden. Following reunification in 1989, the Soviet / Russian troops were withdrawn from Germany in the early 1990s and the NVA dissolved in accordance with the provisions of the Two-Plus-Four Treaty of 1990. From 1985 to 1990, the future President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was stationed in Dresden by the KGB, where he worked for Lazar Matveev, the senior KGB liaison officer there. 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 the Federal Republic of Germany. Local activists and residents joined in the growing

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...

movement spreading across the German Democratic Republic, by staging demonstrations and demanding the removal of the communist government.

Post-reunification

Dresden has experienced dramatic changes since the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s. The city still bears many wounds from the bombing raids of 1945, but it has undergone significant reconstruction in recent decades. Restoration of the Dresden Frauenkirche, a Lutheran church, the rebuilding of which was started after the reunification of Germany in 1994, was completed in 2005, a year before Dresden's 800th anniversary, notably by privately raised funds. The gold cross on the top of the church was funded officially by "the British people and the House of Windsor". The

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

process, which includes the reconstruction of the area around the Neumarkt square on which the Frauenkirche is situated, will continue for many decades, but public and government interest remains high, and there are numerous large projects underway—both historic reconstructions and modern plans—that will continue the city's recent architectural renaissance. Dresden remains a major cultural centre of historical memory, owing to the city's destruction in World War II. Each year on 13 February, the anniversary of the British and American fire-bombing raid that destroyed most of the city, tens of thousands of demonstrators gather to commemorate the event. Since reunification, the ceremony has taken on a more neutral and pacifist tone (after being used more politically during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

). Beginning in 1999, right-wing

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

white nationalist groups have organised demonstrations in Dresden that have been among the largest of their type in the post-war

history of Germany The Germani tribes i.e. Germanic tribes are now considered to be related to the Jastorf culture before expanding and interacting with the other peoples. The concept of a region for Germanic tribes is traced to time of Julius Caesar, a Roman gene ...

. Each year around the anniversary of the city's destruction, people convene in the memory of those who died in the fire-bombing. The completion of the reconstructed Dresden Frauenkirche in 2005 marked the first step in rebuilding the Neumarkt area. The areas around the square have been divided into 8 "quarters", with each being rebuilt as a separate project, the majority of buildings to be rebuilt either to the original structure or at least with a facade similar to the original. The quarters I, II, IV, V, VI and VIII have since been completed, with quarter III and quarter VII still partly under construction in 2020. In 2002, torrential rains caused the Elbe to flood above its normal height, i.e., even higher than the old record height from 1845, damaging many landmarks (see

2002 European floods In August 2002, a week of intense rainfall produced flooding across a large portion of Europe. It reached the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine and Russia. The event killed 232 ...

). The destruction from this "millennium flood" is no longer visible, due to the speed of reconstruction. The United Nations' cultural organization UNESCO declared the Dresden Elbe Valley to be a World Heritage Site in 2004. After being placed on the list of endangered World Heritage Sites in 2006, the city lost the title in June 2009,Dresden loses UNESCO world heritage status
, ''

Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...

'', 25 June 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2009. due to the construction of the '' Waldschlößchenbrücke'', making it only the second ever World Heritage Site to be removed from the register. UNESCO stated in 2006 that the bridge would destroy the cultural landscape. The city council's legal moves, meant to prevent the bridge from being built, failed.

Geography

Location

Dresden lies on both banks of the Elbe, mostly in the Dresden Basin, with the further reaches of the eastern Ore Mountains to the south, the steep slope of the Lusatian granitic crust to the north, and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to the east at an altitude of about . Triebenberg is the highest point in Dresden at .Dresden.de
Location, area, geographical data
With a pleasant location and a mild climate on the Elbe, as well as Baroque-style architecture and numerous world-renowned museums and art collections, Dresden has been called "Elbflorenz" ( Florence on the Elbe). The incorporation of neighbouring

rural communities Sociologists have identified a number of different types of rural communities, which have arisen as a result of changing economic trends within rural regions of industrial nations. The basic trend seems to be one in which communities are requir ...

over the past 60 years has made Dresden the fourth largest urban district by area in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants The nearest German cities are

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

to the southwest, Leipzig to the northwest and Berlin to the north. Prague (Czech Republic) is about to the south and Wrocław (Poland) to the east.

Nature

Dresden is one of the greenest cities in all of Europe, with 62% of the city being green areas and forests. The Dresden Heath (''Dresdner Heide'') to the north is a forest in size. There are four nature reserves. The additional Special Conservation Areas cover . The protected gardens, parkways, parks and old graveyards host 110 natural monuments in the city. The Dresden Elbe Valley is a former world heritage site which is focused on the conservation of the

cultural landscape Cultural landscape is a term used in the fields of geography, ecology, and heritage studies, to describe a symbiosis of human activity and environment. As defined by the World Heritage Committee, it is the "cultural properties hatrepresent the co ...

in Dresden. One important part of that landscape is the Elbe meadows, which cross the city in a 20 kilometre swath. Saxon Switzerland is located south-east of the city.

Climate

Like most of eastern Germany, Dresden has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''), with significant continental influences due to its inland location. The summers are warm, averaging 19.0 °C (66.2 °F) in July. The winters are slightly colder than the German average, with a January average temperature of . The driest months are February, March and April, with precipitation of around . The wettest months are July and August, with more than per month. The microclimate in the Elbe valley differs from that on the slopes and in the higher areas, where the Dresden district Klotzsche, at 227 metres

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, hosts the Dresden weather station. The weather in Klotzsche is colder than in the inner city at 112 metres

Flood protection

Because of its location on the banks of the Elbe, into which some water sources from the Ore Mountains flow, flood protection is important. Large areas are kept free of buildings to provide a flood plain. Two additional trenches, about 50 metres wide, have been built to keep the inner city free of water from the Elbe, by dissipating the water downstream through the inner city's gorge portion. Flood regulation systems like detention basins and water reservoirs are almost all outside the

city area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

. The Weißeritz, normally a rather small river, suddenly ran directly into the main station of Dresden during the

. This was largely because the river returned to its former route; it had been diverted so that a railway could run along the river bed. Many locations and areas need to be protected by walls and sheet pilings during floods. A number of districts become waterlogged if the Elbe overflows across some of its former floodplains.Dresden: Hochwasser in der Vergangenheit: 2002 at
/ref> File:Weisseritz in Löbtau zur Jahrhundertflut 2002.jpg, Floods in 2002 File:Semperoper-flood-2005-03-22.jpg, Semperoper during 2005 floods File:Flood dresden april2006 004.jpg, Elbe flood in April 2006 File:Elbe 030406 2.jpg, Dresden skyline in 2006 File:Elbe-Hochwasser-Dresden-Juni2013-18.jpg, Dresden under water in June 2013

City structuring

Dresden is a spacious city. Its boroughs differ in their structure and appearance. Many parts still contain an old village core, while some quarters are almost completely preserved as rural settings. Other characteristic kinds of urban areas are the historic outskirts of the city, and the former suburbs with scattered housing. During the German Democratic Republic, many apartment blocks were built. The original parts of the city are almost all in the boroughs of Altstadt (Old town) and Neustadt (New town). Growing outside the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

, the historic outskirts were built in the 18th and 19th century. They were planned and constructed on the orders of the Saxon monarchs and many of them are named after Saxon sovereigns (e.g.

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Du ...

and Albertstadt). Dresden has been divided into ten boroughs called "Stadtbezirk" and nine former municipalities ("Ortschaften") which have been incorporated since 1990.

Demographics

The population of Dresden grew to 100,000 inhabitants in 1852, making it one of the first German cities after Hamburg, Berlin and Breslau to reach that number. The population peaked at 649,252 in 1933, and dropped to 368,519 in 1945 because of World War II, during which large residential areas of the city were destroyed. After large incorporations and city restoration, the population grew to 522,532 again between 1946 and 1983.Dresden
Einwohnerzahl
Since

, demographic development has been very unsteady. The city has struggled with migration and suburbanisation. During the 1990s the population increased to 480,000 because of several incorporations, and decreased to 452,827 in 1998. Between 2000 and 2010, the population grew quickly by more than 45,000 inhabitants (about 9.5%) due to a stabilised economy and re-urbanisation. Along with Munich and Potsdam, Dresden is one of the ten fastest-growing cities in Germany. the population of the city of Dresden was 557,075, the population of the Dresden agglomeration was 790,400 , and the population of the Dresden metropolitan area, which includes the neighbouring districts of Meißen, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Bautzen and

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

, was 1,343,305. As of 2018 about 50.0% of the population was female. the mean age of the population was 43 years, which is the lowest among the urban districts in Saxony. there were 67,841 people with a migration background (12.1% of the population, increased from 7.2% in 2010), and about two-thirds of these, 44,665 or about 8.0% of all Dresden citizens were foreigners. This percentage increased from 4.1% in 2010.

Governance

Dresden is one of Germany's 16 political centres and the capital of Saxony. It has institutions of democratic local self-administration that are independent from the capital functions. Some local affairs of Dresden receive national attention. Dresden hosted some international summits in recent years, such as the Petersburg Dialogue between Russia and Germany, the European Union's Minister of the Interior conference and the G8 labour ministers conference.

Mayor

The city council is the legislative branch of the city government. The council gives orders to the mayor (german: Bürgermeister) via resolutions and decrees, and thus also has some degree of executive power. 2022 Dresden mayoral election (2nd round)

The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Herbert Wagner of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 2001. The mayor was originally chosen by the city council, but since 1994 has been directly elected. Ingolf Roßberg of the

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

(FDP) served from 2001 until 2008. He was succeeded by Helma Orosz (CDU). Dirk Hilbert was elected mayor in 2015 under the banner "Independent Citizens for Dresden". He was nominated by the FDP and Free Voters, and was endorsed by the CDU and AfD in the runoff. The most recent mayoral election was held on 12 June 2022, with a runoff held on 10 July, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Dirk Hilbert , align=left, Independent Citizens for Dresden
, 66,165 , 32.5 , 80,483 , 45.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Eva Jähnigen , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

, 38,473 , 18.9 , 67,947 , 38.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Albrecht Pallas , align=left, Social Democratic Party , 31,068 , 15.2 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Maximilian Krah , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...

, 28,971 , 14.2 , 21,741 , 12.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, André Schollbach , align=left, The Left , 20,898 , 10.3 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marcus Fuchs , align=left, Independent , 6,856 , 3.4 , 3,549 , 2.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Schulte-Wissermann , align=left,

Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...

, 5,975 , 2.9 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sascha Wolff , align=left, Independent , 2,695 , 1.3 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Jan Pöhnisch , align=left, Die PARTEI , 2,684 , 1.3 , 3,824 , 2.2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 203,785 ! 99.4 ! 177,544 ! 99.5 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,145 ! 0.6 ! 974 ! 0.5 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 204,930 ! 100.0 ! 178,518 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 432,294 ! 47.4 ! 431,967 ! 41.3 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Dresden
1st round

City council

The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 171,630 , 20.5 , 4.8 , 15 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 153,022 , 18.3 , 9.3 , 13 , 8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 143,207 , 17.2 , 10.1 , 12 , 7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 135,613 , 16.2 , 4.7 , 12 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 73,627 , 8.8 , 4.0 , 6 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(FDP) , 62,613 , 7.5 , 2.5 , 5 , 2 , - , , align=left, Free Voters Dresden (WV) , 44,725 , 5.3 , 5.2 , 4 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) , 20,516 , 2.4 , 0.9 , 1 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI) , 15,268 , 1.8 , 0.9 , 1 , 1 , - , , align=left, Free Citizens Dresden (FBD) , 12,652 , 1.5 , 2.3 , 1 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, National Democratic Party (NPD) , 4,744 , 0.6 , 2.2 , 0 , 2 , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 288,060 ! 98.7 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 3,937 ! 1.3 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 291,997 ! 100.0 ! ! 70 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 436,179 ! 66.9 ! 17.9 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
Wahlen in Sachsen

Public institutions

As the capital of Saxony, Dresden is home to the Saxon state parliament (''Landtag'') and the ministries of the Saxon Government. The controlling

Constitutional Court of Saxony The Constitutional Court of Saxony (german: Verfassungsgerichtshof des Freistaates Sachsen; abbreviated: ') is the constitutional court of Saxony. The court has its seat in Leipzig and is opposite of the Federal Administrative Court building. ...

is in Leipzig. The highest Saxon court in civil and

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

, is the Higher Regional Court of Dresden. Most of the Saxon state authorities are located in Dresden. Dresden is home to the Regional Commission of the Dresden Regierungsbezirk, which is a controlling authority for the Saxon Government. It has jurisdiction over eight

rural districts Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the ad ...

, two urban districts and the city of Dresden. Like many cities in Germany, Dresden is also home to a local court, has a trade corporation and a Chamber of Industry and Trade and many subsidiaries of federal agencies (such as the Federal Labour Office or the Federal Agency for Technical Relief). It hosts some divisions of the German Customs and Waterways and Shipping Office. Dresden is home to a military subdistrict command, but no longer has large military units as it did in the past. Dresden is the traditional location for army officer schooling in Germany, today carried out in the Offizierschule des Heeres.

Local affairs

Local affairs in Dresden often centre around the urban development of the city and its spaces. Architecture and the design of

public places A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the sidewalk, pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are ...

is a controversial subject. Discussions about the Waldschlößchenbrücke, a bridge under construction across the Elbe, received international attention because of its position across the Dresden Elbe Valley World Heritage Site. The city held a public referendum in 2005 on whether to build the bridge, prior to UNESCO expressing doubts about the compatibility between bridge and heritage. Its construction caused loss of World Heritage site status in 2009. In 2006, the city of Dresden sold its publicly

subsidized housing Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housin ...

organization, WOBA Dresden GmbH, to the US-based private

investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under the ...

Fortress Investment Group. The city received euro and paid off its remaining loans, making it the first large city in Germany to become debt-free. Opponents of the sale were concerned about Dresden's loss of control over the subsidized housing market. Dresden has been the center of groups and activities of far-right movements. Politicians and politics of

(AfD) have a strong backing. Starting in October 2014, PEGIDA, a nationalistic political movement based in Dresden has been organizing weekly demonstrations against what it perceives as the Islamization of Europe at the height of the European migrant crisis. As the number of demonstrators increased to 15,000 in December 2014, so has the international media coverage of it. However, since 2015, the number of demonstrators has decreased significantly. In 2019, the Dresden City Council passed a policy statement against "anti-democratic, anti-pluralist, misanthropic and right-wing-extremist developments". The motion was originally put forward by the satirical political party Die Partei. Bündnis 90/Die Grünen,

Die Linke The Left (german: Die Linke; stylised as and in its logo as ), commonly referred to as the Left Party (german: Die Linkspartei, links=no ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of th ...

, SPD and Die Partei voted in favour of the statement. The CDU and AfD voted against it. Among other things, the statement calls on strengthening democracy, protecting human rights and raising spending on (political) education.

Twin towns – sister cities

Dresden and Coventry became twins after the Second World War in an act of reconciliation, as both had suffered near-total destruction from massive aerial bombing. Similar symbolism occurred in 1988, when Dresden twinned with the Dutch city of Rotterdam. The Coventry Blitz and Rotterdam Blitz bombardments by the German Luftwaffe are also considered to be disproportional. Dresden has had a triangular partnership with Saint Petersburg and Hamburg since 1987. Dresden is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Coventry, England, United Kingdom (1959) * Saint Petersburg, Russia (1961) * Wrocław, Poland (1963) * Skopje, North Macedonia (1967) * Ostrava, Czech Republic (1971) *

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

, Congo (1975) * Florence, Italy (1978) * Hamburg, Germany (1987) * Rotterdam, Netherlands (1988) *

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France (1990) * Salzburg, Austria (1991) *

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, United States (1992) * Hangzhou, China (2009)

Friendly cities

Dresden also has friendly relations with: * Daejeon, South Korea * Gostyń, Poland * Shiraz, Iran

Cityscape

Architecture

Although Dresden is often said to be a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

city, its architecture is influenced by more than one style. Other eras of importance are the Renaissance and Historicism, as well as the contemporary styles of Modernism and

Postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

. Dresden has some 13,000 listed cultural monuments and eight districts under general preservation orders.

Royal household

The Dresden Castle was the seat of the royal household from 1485. The wings of the building have been renewed, built upon and restored many times. Due to this integration of styles, the castle is made up of elements of the Renaissance,

and Classicist styles. The Zwinger Palace is across the road from the castle. It was built on the old stronghold of the city and was converted to a centre for the royal art collections and a place to hold festivals. Its gate by the moat is surmounted by a golden crown. Other royal buildings and ensembles: *

Brühl's Terrace Brühl's Terrace (german: Brühlsche Terrasse) is a historic architectural ensemble in Dresden, Germany. Nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe", the terrace stretches high above the shore of the river Elbe. Located north of the recently rebuilt Neumar ...

was a gift to Heinrich, count von Brühl, and became an ensemble of buildings above the river Elbe. * Dresden Elbe Valley with the Pillnitz Castle and other castles

Sacred buildings

The Hofkirche was the church of the royal household. Augustus the Strong, who desired to be

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

, converted to Catholicism, as Polish kings had to be Catholic. At that time Dresden was strictly Protestant. Augustus the Strong ordered the building of the Hofkirche, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, to establish a sign of Roman Catholic religious importance in Dresden. The church is the cathedral "Sanctissimae Trinitatis" since 1980. The crypt of the Wettin Dynasty is located within the church. King Augustus III of Poland is buried in the cathedral, as one of very few Polish Kings to be buried outside the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. In contrast to the Hofkirche, the Lutheran Frauenkirche located at the Neumarkt was built almost contemporaneously by the citizens of Dresden. The city's historic Kreuzkirche was reconsecrated in 1388. There are also other churches in Dresden, for example the Russian Orthodox

St. Simeon of the Wonderful Mountain Church The St. Simeon of the Wonderful Mountain Church (''Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche des Heiligen Simeon vom wunderbaren Berge'') is a Russian Orthodox church in the German city of Dresden. It was designed by Harald Julius von Bosse and Karl Weißbach a ...

in the Südvorstadt district.

Historicism

Historicist buildings made their presence felt on the cityscape until the 1920s. Notable examples of Renaissance Revival architecture in Dresden include the Albertinum located at Brühl's Terrace as well as the

Saxon State Chancellery The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and the

Saxon State Ministry of Finance The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic peoples, Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxo ...

located on the northern Elbe river banks. The Ehrlichsche Gestiftskirche, constructed in 1907, was a historicist church building that was demolished in August 1951. The Villa Rosa was built in 1839 and was considered one of the most important villa buildings in Dresden, due to its Renaissance Revival architecture. Yenidze is a former cigarette factory building built in the style of a mosque between 1907 and 1909. The most recent historicist buildings in Dresden date from the short era of

Stalinist architecture Stalinist architecture, mostly known in the former Eastern Bloc as Stalinist style () or Socialist Classicism, is the architecture of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, between 1933 (when Boris Iofan's draft for the Palace ...

in the 1950s, e.g. at the Altmarkt. 20121011070DR Dresden Altmarkt Haus Altmarkt + Wasserspiele

Modernism

The ''Garden City of Hellerau'', at that time a suburb of Dresden, was founded in 1909. It was Germany's first garden city. In 1911, Heinrich Tessenow built the Hellerau Festspielhaus (festival theatre). Until the outbreak of World War I, Hellerau was a centre for European modernism with international standing. In 1950, Hellerau was incorporated into the city of Dresden. Today, the Hellerau reform architecture is recognized as exemplary. In the 1990s, the garden city of Hellerau became a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. The German Hygiene Museum (built 1928–1930) is a signal example of modern architecture in Dresden in the interwar period. The building is designed in an impressively monumental style, but employs plain façades and simple structures. Important modernist buildings erected between 1945 and 1990 are the Centrum-Warenhaus (a large department store), representing the

international Style International style may refer to: * International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture *International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art *International Style (dancing), a term used in ...

, and the multi-purpose hall Kulturpalast.

Contemporary architecture

After 1990 and German reunification, new styles emerged. Important contemporary buildings include the New Synagogue, a

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

building with few windows, the Transparent Factory, the Saxon State Parliament and the New Terrace, the UFA-Kristallpalast cinema by Coop Himmelb(l)au (one of the biggest buildings of Deconstructivism in Germany), and the Saxon State Library.

Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...

and Norman Foster both modified existing buildings. Foster roofed the main railway station with translucent Teflon-coated synthetics. Libeskind changed the whole structure of the Bundeswehr Military History Museum by placing a wedge through the historical arsenal building. According to Libeskind's studio, " e façade’s openness and transparency is intended to contrast with the opacity and rigidity of the existing building."

Bridges

Important bridges crossing the Elbe river are the Blaues Wunder bridge and the Augustus Bridge.

Statues

Jean-Joseph Vinache's golden equestrian statue of August the Strong, the ''Goldener Reiter'' (Golden Cavalier), is on the Neustädter Markt square. It shows August at the beginning of the Hauptstraße (Main street) on his way to Warsaw, where he was King of Poland in personal union. Another statue is the memorial of Martin Luther in front of the Frauenkirche.

Parks and gardens

Großer Garten is a

Baroque garden The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ga ...

in central Dresden. It includes the

Dresden Zoo Dresden Zoo or Zoo Dresden, is a zoo situated in the city of Dresden, Germany. It was opened in 1861, making it Germany's fourth oldest zoo. It was originally designed by Peter Joseph Lenné. The zoo is located on the southern edge of the ...

and the Dresden Botanical Garden. The Dresden Heath is a large forest located in the northeast of Dresden and one of the city's most important recreation areas. The park of

Pillnitz Palace Pillnitz Palace (german: Schloss Pillnitz) is a restored Baroque schloss at the eastern end of the city of Dresden in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the bank of the River Elbe in the former village of Pillnitz. It was the summer res ...

is famous for its botanical treasures, including a more than 230-year-old

Japanese camellia ''Camellia japonica'', known as common camellia, or Japanese camellia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae. There are thousands of cultivars of ''C. japonica'' in cultivation, with many colors and forms of flowers. In the U.S. ...

and about 400 potted plants.

Main sights

File:Dresden-Frauenkirche-night.jpg, Dresden Frauenkirche File:Dresden-Zwinger.courtyard.07.JPG, Zwinger Palace File:Dresden Germany Exterior-of-Semperoper-01.jpg, Semperoper File:Dresden - Blick auf die Altstadt.jpg, Dresden New Town Hall File:Akademie. Dresden.jpg, Dresden Academy of Fine Arts File:Dresden Kreuzkirche 2008.jpg, Kreuzkirche, Dresden File:Dresden Fürstenzug 065.JPG, Fürstenzug File:Dresden-Muenzgasse1.jpg, Münzgasse at Neumarkt File:DD-Schloss-gp.jpg, Dresden Castle File:Dresden-Hofkirche.04.jpg, Katholische Hofkirche File:Dresden-Yenidze-night.jpg, Yenidze at night File:Dresden_Aeussere_Neustadt.jpg, Dresden-Neustadt File:Pillnitz13.jpg, Pillnitz Castle File:Hygienemuseum.jpg, German Hygiene Museum File:Militärhistorisches_Museum_der_Bundeswehr_October_2011.jpg, Bundeswehr Military History Museum File:Blaueswunder01.jpg,

Blue Wonder Loschwitz Bridge (') is a cantilever truss bridge over the river Elbe in Dresden the capital of Saxony in Germany. It connects the city districts of Blasewitz and Loschwitz, two affluent residential areas, which around 1900 were amongst t ...

File:Nymphenbad_1.JPG, ''Nymphenbad'' File:Luftbildaufnahme des Großen Gartens in Dresden.jpg, Großer Garten

Culture

Carl Maria von Weber and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

had a number of their works performed for the first time in Dresden. Other artists, such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Dix, Oskar Kokoschka,

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

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 ...

and

Gret Palucca Gret Palucca (born Margarethe Paluka; 8 January 1902 – 22 March 1993) was a German dancer and dance teacher, notable for her dance school, the Palucca School of Dance, founded in Dresden in 1925. Life and work Margarethe Paluka was born in Mu ...

, were also active in the city. Dresden is also home to several art collections and musical ensembles.

Entertainment

The Saxon State Opera descends from the opera company of the former electors and Kings of Saxony. Their first opera house was the Opernhaus am Taschenberg, opened in 1667. The Opernhaus am Zwinger presented opera from 1719 to 1756, when the Seven Years' War began. The later Semperoper was completely destroyed during the bombing of Dresden during the second world war. The opera's reconstruction was completed exactly 40 years later, on 13 February 1985. Its musical ensemble is the '' Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden'', founded in 1548. The Dresden State Theatre runs a number of smaller theatres. The Dresden State Operetta is the only independent

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

in Germany. The ''Herkuleskeule'' ( Hercules club) is an important site in German-speaking political cabaret. There are several choirs in Dresden, the best-known of which is the

Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surrounding ...

(Choir of The Holy Cross). It is a boys' choir drawn from pupils of the

Kreuzschule The ''Kreuzschule'' (German for "School of the Cross") in Dresden (also known by its Latin name, ''schola crucis'') is the oldest surviving school in Dresden and one of the oldest in Germany. As early as 1300, a schoolmaster (''Cunradus puerorum ...

, and was founded in the 13th century. The ''Dresdner Kapellknaben'' are not related to the ''Staatskapelle'', but to the former ''Hofkapelle'', the Catholic cathedral, since 1980. The Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra is the orchestra of the city of Dresden. Throughout the summer, the outdoor concert series "Zwingerkonzerte und Mehr" is held in the ''Zwingerhof''. Performances include dance and music. There are several small

cinemas A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

presenting

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

s and low-budget or low-profile films chosen for their cultural value. Dresden also has a few multiplex cinemas, of which the Rundkino is the oldest. Dresden's Striezelmarkt is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany. Founded as a one-day market in 1434, it is considered the first genuine Christmas market in the world. A big event each year in June is the

Bunte Republik Neustadt The Bunte Republik Neustadt (German: literally "Colourful Republic of Neustadt") was a micronation in Dresden in Germany, in parts of the city's district Dresden-Neustadt, from 1990 to 1993; nowadays every year in June a 3-day cultural festiva ...

, a culture festival lasting three days in the city district of Dresden-Neustadt. Bands play live concerts for free in the streets and there are refreshments and food.

Museums

Dresden hosts the '' Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden'' (Dresden State Art Collections) which, according to the institution's own statements, place it among the most important museums presently in existence. The art collections consist of twelve museums, including the '' Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister'' (Old Masters Gallery) and the '' Grünes Gewölbe'' (Green Vault) and the ''

'' (Japanisches Palais). Also known are '' Galerie Neue Meister'' (New Masters Gallery), '' Rüstkammer'' (Armoury) with the Turkish Chamber, and the ''

Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden The Dresden Museum of Ethnology (german: Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden) contains an ethnographic collection with more than 90,000 artefacts from all parts of the earth. It is part of the Dresden State Art Collections. Founded in 1875, the museu ...

'' (Museum of Ethnology). Other museums and collections owned by the Free State of Saxony in Dresden are: * The '' Deutsche Hygiene-Museum'', founded for

mass education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory schooling ...

in hygiene, health, human biology and medicine * The ''Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte'' (State Museum of Prehistory) * The ''Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden'' (Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden) * The ''Universitätssammlung Kunst + Technik'' (Collection of Art and Technology of the Dresden University of Technology) * ''

Verkehrsmuseum Dresden The Dresden Transport Museum ( German: Verkehrsmuseum Dresden) displays vehicles of all modes of transport, such as railway, shipping, road and air traffic, under one roof. The museum is housed in the Johanneum at the Neumarkt in Dresden. The ...

'' (Transport Museum) * ''Festung Dresden'' (Dresden Fortress) * ''Panometer Dresden ( Dresden Panometer)'' (Panorama museum) The

Dresden City Museum Dresden City Museum (german: link=no, Stadtmuseum Dresden) is the central city museum for the German city of Dresden. Its displays tell the 800-year story of the city and is the largest and most important of the Dresden State Museums (''Städti ...

is run by the city of Dresden and focused on the city's history. The Bundeswehr Military History Museum is placed in the former garrison in the Albertstadt. The book museum of the Saxon State Library presents the Dresden Codex. The Kraszewski Museum is a museum dedicated to the most prolific Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, who lived in Dresden from 1863 to 1883.

Transport

Bus

DVB is the municipal company in charge of transport in the city of Dresden. DVB provides a night service named ('goodnight lines'), which operates Monday-Sunday, although the frequency of the buses is greater on Friday, Saturday and before holidays when the routes run every 30 minutes between 22:45 and 04:45. Postplatz is the most important hub for night-time travel in Dresden. Most GuteNachtLinie routes meet here at the same time to allow people to switch routes.

Roads

The Bundesautobahn 4 ( European route E40) crosses Dresden in the northwest from west to east. The Bundesautobahn 17 leaves the A4 in a south-eastern direction. In Dresden it begins to cross the Ore Mountains towards Prague. The Bundesautobahn 13 leaves from the three-point interchange "Dresden-Nord" and goes to Berlin. The A13 and the A17 are on the European route E55. In addition, several Bundesstraßen (federal highways) run through Dresden.

Rail

There are two main inter-city transit hubs in the railway network in Dresden: Dresden Hauptbahnhof and Dresden-Neustadt railway station. The most important railway lines run to Berlin, Prague, Leipzig and Chemnitz. A commuter train system ( Dresden S-Bahn) operates on three lines alongside the long-distance routes.

Aviation

Dresden Airport is the city's

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

, located at the north-western outskirts of the city. After German reunification the airport's infrastructure has been considerably improved. In 1998, a motorway access route was opened. In March 2001, a new terminal building was opened along with the underground S-Bahn station Dresden Flughafen, a multi-storey car park and a new aircraft handling ramp.

Trams

Dresden has a large tramway network operated by Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe, the municipal transport company. The Transport Authority operates twelve lines on a network. Many of the new low-floor vehicles are up to 45 metres long and produced by

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

in Bautzen. While about 30% of the system's lines are on reserved track (often sown with grass to avoid noise), many tracks still run on the streets, especially in the inner city. The CarGoTram is a tram that supplies Volkswagen's Transparent Factory, crossing the city. The transparent factory is located not far from the city centre next to the city's largest park. The districts of Loschwitz and Weisser Hirsch are connected by the Dresden Funicular Railway, which has been carrying passengers back and forth since 1895.

Economy

Until enterprises like

Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...

left Dresden in the communist era to avoid

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

, Dresden was one of the most important German cities, an important industrial centre of the German Democratic Republic. The period of the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

until 1990 was characterized by low economic growth in comparison to western German cities. In 1990 Dresden had to struggle with the economic collapse of the Soviet Union and the other export markets in Eastern Europe. After reunification enterprises and production sites broke down almost completely as they entered the social market economy, facing competition from the Federal Republic of Germany. After 1990 a completely new

legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...

and currency system was introduced and infrastructure was largely rebuilt with funds from the Federal Republic of Germany. Dresden as a major urban centre has developed much faster and more consistently than most other regions in the former German Democratic Republic. Between 1990 and 2010 the unemployment rate fluctuated between 13% and 15%, but has decreased significantly ever since. In December 2019 the unemployment rate was 5.3%, the fourth lowest among the 15 largest cities of Germany (after Munich,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

and Nuremberg). In 2017, the

GDP per capita Lists of countries by GDP per capita list the countries in the world by their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The lists may be based on nominal or purchasing power parity GDP. Gross national income (GNI) per capita accounts for inflows ...

of Dresden was 39,134 euros, the highest in Saxony. Thanks to the presence of public administration centres, a high density of semi-public research institutes and an extension of publicly funded high technology sectors, the proportion of highly qualified workers Dresden is again among the highest in Germany and by European criteria. In 2019, Dresden had the seventh-best future prospects of all cities in Germany, after being ranked fourth in 2017. According to the 2019 study by Forschungsinstitut Prognos, Dresden is one of the most dynamic regions in Germany. It ranks at number 41 of all 401 German regions and second of all regions in former East Germany (only surpassed by Jena).

Enterprises

Three major sectors dominate Dresden's economy: Silicon Saxony Saxony's semiconductor industry was built up in 1969. Major enterprises today include AMD's semiconductor fabrication spin-off GlobalFoundries, Infineon Technologies, ZMDI and Toppan Photomasks. Their factories attract many suppliers of material and cleanroom technology enterprises to Dresden. The pharmaceutical sector developed at the end of the 19th century. The 'Sächsisches Serumwerk Dresden' (Saxon Serum Plant, Dresden), owned by

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

, is a global leader in vaccine production. Another traditional pharmaceuticals producer is Arzneimittelwerke Dresden (Pharmaceutical Works, Dresden). A third traditional branch is that of mechanical and

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. Major employers are the Volkswagen Transparent Factory, Elbe Flugzeugwerke (Elbe Aircraft Works),

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

and Linde-KCA-Dresden. The tourism industry enjoys high revenue and supports many employees. There are around one hundred bigger hotels in Dresden, many of which cater in the upscale range. Dresden still has a shortage of corporate headquarters.

Media

The media in Dresden include two major newspapers of regional record: the '' Sächsische Zeitung'' (''Saxon Newspaper'', circulation around 228,000) and the '' Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten'' (''Dresden's Latest News'', circulation around 50,000). Dresden has a broadcasting centre belonging to the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. The ''Dresdner Druck- und Verlagshaus'' (Dresden printing plant and publishing house) produces part of Spiegel's print run, amongst other newspapers and magazines.

Education and science

Dresden Germany City-views-from-tower-of-Frauenkirche-01

Universities

Dresden is home to a number of renowned universities, but among German cities it is a more recent location for academic education. * The Dresden University of Technology (Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TU Dresden or TUD) with more than 36,000 students (2011) was founded in 1828 and is among the oldest and largest Universities of Technology in Germany. It is currently the university of technology in Germany with the largest number of students but also has many courses in social studies, economics and other non-technical sciences. It offers 126 courses. In 2006, the TU Dresden was successful in the German Universities Excellence Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany). * The Dresden University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden) was founded in 1992 and had about 5,300 students in 2005. * The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden) was founded in 1764 and is known for its former professors and artists such as

George Grosz George Grosz (; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objec ...

, Sascha Schneider, Otto Dix, Oskar Kokoschka, Bernardo Bellotto, Carl-Gustav Carus,

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscape ...

and Gerhard Richter. * The Palucca School of Dance (Palucca Hochschule für Tanz) was founded by

in 1925 and is a major European school of free dance. * The Carl Maria von Weber College of Music was founded in 1856. Other universities include the ''Hochschule für Kirchenmusik'', a school specialising in church music, and the ''Evangelische Hochschule für Sozialarbeit'', an education institution for

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. The ''Dresden International University'' is a private postgraduate university, founded in 2003 in cooperation with the Dresden University of Technology.

Research institutes

Dresden hosts many

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

s, some of which have gained an international standing. The domains of most importance are micro- and nanoelectronics, transport and infrastructure systems, material and photonic technology, and bio-engineering. The institutes are well connected among one other as well as with the academic education institutions. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf is the largest complex of research facilities in Dresden, a short distance outside the urban areas. It focuses on nuclear medicine and physics. As part of the Helmholtz Association it is one of the German Big Science research centres. The

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

focuses on

fundamental research Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied researc ...

. There are three Max Planck Institutes (MPI) in Dresden: the MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, the MPI for Chemical Physics of Solids, and the MPI for the Physics of Complex Systems. The Fraunhofer Society hosts institutes of applied research that also offer mission-oriented research to enterprises. With eleven institutions or parts of institutes, Dresden is the largest location of the Fraunhofer Society worldwide. The Fraunhofer Society has become an important factor in location decisions and is seen as a useful part of the "knowledge infrastructure". The Leibniz Community is a union of institutes with science covering fundamental research and applied research. In Dresden there are three Leibniz Institutes. The

Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research The Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden in Dresden (german: Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung) – in short IPF Dresden – is a non-university research institute and a member of the Leibniz Association. The IPF is carrying out f ...

and the

Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...

are both in the material and high-technology domain, while the Leibniz Institute for Ecological and Regional Development is focused on more fundamental research into urban planning. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf was member of the Leibniz Community until the end of 2010.

Higher secondary education

Dresden has more than 20 gymnasia which prepare for a tertiary education, five of which are private. The ''Sächsisches Landesgymnasium für Musik'' with a focus on music is supported, as its name implies by the State of Saxony, rather than by the city. There are some ''Berufliche Gymnasien'' which combine vocational education and secondary education and a ''Abendgymnasium'' which prepares higher education of adults avocational.

Sport

Dresden is home to Dynamo Dresden, which had a tradition in UEFA club competitions up to the early 1990s. Dynamo Dresden won eight titles in the

DDR-Oberliga The DDR-Oberliga (English: ''East German Premier League'' or ''GDR Premier League'') was the top-level association football league in East Germany. Overview Following World War II, separate sports competitions emerged in the occupied eastern ...

. Currently, the club is a member of the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

after some seasons in the Bundesliga and

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

. In the early 20th century, the city was represented by Dresdner SC, who were one of Germany's most successful clubs in football. Their best performances came during World War II, when they were twice German champions, and twice

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, c ...

winners. Dresdner SC is a multisport club. While its football team plays in the sixth-tier Landesliga Sachsen, its volleyball section has a team in the women's Bundesliga. Dresden has a third

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team SC Borea Dresden. ESC Dresdner Eislöwen is an ice hockey club playing in the second-tier ice hockey league DEL2. Dresden Monarchs are an American football team in the German Football League. The Dresden Titans are the city's top basketball team. Due to good performances, they have moved up several divisions and currently play in Germany's second division ProA. The Titans' home arena is the Margon Arena. Since 1890,

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

s have taken place and the Dresdener Rennverein 1890 e.V. are active and one of the big sporting events in Dresden. Major sporting facilities in Dresden are the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion and the EnergieVerbund Arena for ice hockey.

Quality of life

According to the 2017 Global Least & Most Stressful Cities Ranking, Dresden was one of the least stressful cities in the world. It was ranked 15th out of 150 cities worldwide and above Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dortmund, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin.

Notable people

* Georg Bartisch (c. 1535–1607), eye surgeon and author of first German-language textbook of ophthalmology * Gerhart Baum (born 1932), politician (FDP) * Amelie Beese (1886–1925), aviator *

Christine Bergmann Christine Bergmann (born 7 September 1939) is a German politician (SPD). She grew up in East Germany, embarking on a public political career only at the time of German reunification. During the final months of the German Democratic Republic sh ...

(born 1939), politician (SPD) *

August Buchner August Buchner (2 November 1591 – 12 February 1661) was a German philologist, poet and literary scholar, an influential professor of poetry and rhetoric at the University of Wittenberg. Career Buchner was born in Dresden the son of Paul Buchne ...

(1591–1661), influential Baroque poet * Andreas von Bülow (born 1937), politician and writer * Thomas Fritsch (1944–2021), film, television and dubbing actor *

Siegfried Geißler Siegfried Rudolf Geißler (26 March 1929 – 10 July 2014) was a German composer, Conducting, conductor, hornist and politician.Tobias BrökeSiegfried Geißler/ref> He founded the Thüringen Philharmonie Suhl in 1979. After the Die Wende, Wende, h ...

(1929–2014), composer, conductor, hornist and politician * Carle Hessay (1911–1978), Canadian painter *

Peter Hoffmann Peter Hoffmann may refer to: * Peter Hoffmann (historian) (born 1930), German Canadian professor of history * Peter Hoffmann (racecar driver) (born 1939), German racer * Peter Hoffmann (canoeist) (born 1941), German former sprint canoer * Peter Ho ...

(born 1930), historian * Andrea Ihle (born 1953), operatic soprano * Max Immelmann (1890–1916), World War I fighter pilot, also first pilot awarded the Pour le Mérite, known as the “Blue Max” in his honor * Annette Jahns (1958–2020), operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto, and opera director *

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He received ...

(1899–1974), author of books *

Christoph M. Kimmich Christoph M. Kimmich (born January 16, 1939) is a German-American historian. He was the eighth President of Brooklyn College from 2000 to 2009. He was educated at Haverford College (BA 1961) and Oxford University (PhD. 1964) and elected to Phi Be ...

(born 1939), German-American historian and eighth President of

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

* Katja Kipping (born 1978), politician (The Left) * Victor Klemperer (1881–1960), Jewish author of ''I Will Bear Witness'' * Ferdinand A. Lange (1815–1875), watchmaker, founder of A. Lange & Söhne * Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel (1809–1885), Prussian general field marshal * Paul Miersch (1868–1956), composer * Siarhei Mikhalok (born 1972), Belarusian rock musician and actor * Wolfgang Mischnick (1921–2002), politician (FDP) *

August Joseph Pechwell August Joseph Pechwell (1757–1811) was a German painter. Life Pechwell was born at Dresden in 1757. He was instructed by Flutin, and afterwards went to Rome, where he remained till 1781. He painted altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such ...

(1757–1811), painter *

(1696–1763), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland * Karl Reinisch (1921–2007), engineer * Gerhard Richter (born 1932), painter *

Ludwig Richter Adrian Ludwig Richter (September 28, 1803June 19, 1884) was a German painter and etcher, who was strongly influenced by Erhard and Chodowiecki. He was a representative of both Romanticism and Biedermeier styles. He was the most popular, and ...

(1803–1884), painter * Gernot Roll (1939–2020), cinematographer, film director and script writer * Matthias Sammer (born 1967), footballer and football coach * Ad Santel (1887–1966), professional wrestler * Albert of Saxony (1828–1902), King of Saxony * Anthony of Saxony (1755–1836), King of Saxony * Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (1750–1827), King of Saxony * Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (1797–1854), King of Saxony * Frederick Augustus III of Saxony (1865–1932), King of Saxony * George, King of Saxony (1832–1904), King of Saxony *

John of Saxony , image = Photograph of John, King of Saxony (1801-1873).jpg , reign =9 August 1854 – 29 October 1873 , caption = Photograph of King John, , predecessor = Frederick Augustus II , successor =Albert , succe ...

(1801–1873), King of Saxony * Helmut Schön (1915–1996), football coach *

Edith Schönert-Geiß Edith Schönert-Geiß (7 August 1933, Dresden - 12 June 2012, Berlin) was a German numismatist, who specialised in the classical coinage of Thrace and was instrumental in the post-war re-establishment of the Corpus Nummorum. Biography Edith Sc ...

(1933–2012), numismatist * Augustus II the Strong (1670–1733), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland *

Axel Tischer Axel Tischer (born 5 November 1986), is a German professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name, Alexander Wolfe. Under his real name, Tischer competed on the European independent circuit. D ...

(born 1986), professional wrestler * Herbert Wehner (1906–1990), politician (SPD) * Fritz Wiessner (1900–1988), pioneer of free climbing *

Elsa Laura Wolzogen Elsa Laura Seemann von Mangern von Wolzogen (5 August 1876 – 25 April 1945) was a German composer, lute player, and singer. She was born and grew up in Dresden, where her family owned a guesthouse which entertained well-known artists and scholar ...

(1876–1945), composer

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* ''Dresden: Tuesday, 13 February 1945'' by Frederick Taylor, 2005; * ''Dresden and the Heavy Bombers: An RAF Navigator's Perspective'' by Frank Musgrove, 2005; * ''Return to Dresden'' by Maria Ritter, 2004; * ''Dresden: Heute/Today'' by Dieter Zumpe, 2003; * ''Destruction of Dresden'' by David Irving, 1972; * '' Slaughterhouse-Five'' by Kurt Vonnegut, 1970; * ''Disguised Visibilities: Dresden'' by Mark Jarzombek in ''Memory and Architecture'', Ed. By Eleni Bastea, (University of Mexico Press, 2004). * * ''Preserve and Rebuild: Dresden during the Transformations of 1989–1990. Architecture, Citizens Initiatives and Local Identities'' by Victoria Knebel, 2007; * ''La tutela del patrimonio culturale in caso di conflitto'' by Fabio Maniscalco (editor), 2002;

External links

Official homepage of the city
*
Official tourist office

Homepage of the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe, the public transport provider

Network maps of the public transport system
* https://web.archive.org/web/20200412221256/http://www.neumarkt-dresden.de/ Organisation for reconstruction of the Neumarkt {{Authority control Cities in Saxony German state capitals Populated places established in the 12th century Holocaust locations in Germany Populated riverside places in Germany Populated places on the Elbe