Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony with a population of almost 500,000. It evolved into one of Germany's most beautiful cities after it became the residence of the Wettins, rulers of Saxony for over 800 years. After allied fire bombings obliterated the historical center in 1945, reconstruction of Dresden's magnificent landmarks continues to today.
The Dresden Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) is a Lutheran church built between 1726 and 1743. This Baroque church was destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II in 1945. Reconstruction began in 1994 using as much of the original structure and material (notice the dark stones) as possible. The reconstruction of its exterior was completed in 2004, its interior in 2005. The church's most distinctive feature was its high dome, called die Steinerne Glocke or "Stone Bell," an engineering feat comparable to Michelangelo's dome for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome,
The interior of Church of Our Lady was breathtaking. They did not allow photos of the interior, but thanks to the Internet, I found this one.
For centuries the Residenzschloss - the royal palace in Dresden - served as the seat of government for the Saxon Rulers of the Wettin family. Begun in the 13th century as a fort, it was expanded into a palace in 16th century. It was also destroyed by the bombings in 1945. The rebuilt palace is now home to a number of museums.
The Hofkirche (Church of the Court), is a Catholic church built between 1738 and 1751 in high baroque style. Augustus III decided a Catholic church was needed to counterbalance the protestant Church of Our Lady, and in secrecy planned for the largest church in Saxony.
The Fürstenzug (Procession of Prince) is one of the largest (335 ft. long) porcelain artworks in the world and is made out of 25,000 Meissen porcelain tiles. This large mural of a mounted procession shows the thousand year history of the Princely house of Wettin. It was constructed between 1904 and 1907 and survived the bombings of 1945.
You can barely see Bonnie and me in front of the Semper Opera House. It is considered one of the most important examples of 19th century theater architecture. It also needed to be rebuilt after the war.
The Zwinger Palace is Dresden's most famous landmark. Built between 1710 and 1732, it was commissioned by Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony. The Zwinger, with its large inner courtyard, was used for court festivities, tournaments and fireworks.
Today has been one of our favorite days on our adventure so far. After our two hour walking tour of Dresden, we spent an additional three hours walking around this beautiful city. Rather then returning to the ship for lunch, we dined on currywurst and soft pretzels, did a little shopping, and returned to some of the sights we saw in the morning for a second look.
This evening we had our farewell dinner with the ship’s captain, and now it is time for us to pack up. We disembark in the morning and make our way to Prague.
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