Dresden

Dresden is the capital of Saxony and was home to many of its kings and can be found on the Elbe River. The city was pretty much destroyed by Allied bombing during WWII and then became a major industrial centre of the GDR. Fun fact (ok, maybe not fun but probably not known by most who read this) Putin was stationed in Dresden during the late 80s when he was still part of the KGB. Today the city has been mostly rebuilt and is back to its original state.

We spent the day touring the city starting with Zwinger Palace.

The name Zwinger comes from medieval German that refers to the part of a fortification between the outer and inner defensive walls. It was originally built in the early 1700s and then rebuilt in its Baroque style following the war.

Beside the palace is the Saxon State Opera, the Semperoper name after the original architect - Gottfried Semper. It was originally built in 1841 then destroyed by a fire in 1869, rebuilt by Semper's son and the destroyed again during the second world war. The building that stands today was completed in 1985.

On the same square you can see the Dresden Cathedral.

Dresden Cathedral was commissioned by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland while the Protestant city of Dresden built the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) between 1726 and 1743. The general population was Protestant but its rulers were Catholic and built the cathedral for his own use and for the use of other high-ranking officials, connecting it to his home (Dresden Castle) with an ornate covered walkway.

Behind the cathedral is a raised walkway that runs along the Elbe which is where our tour took us next!

Which then brought us to the more central, pedestrian, touristy area.

I will continue with the rest of the tour in another post as this one is getting a bit long.