Where is dresden germany

Berlin is only about miles north of Dresden. Prague in the Czech Republic lies only 90 miles south of Dresden. Leipzig and Chemnitz can be reached in about an hour by car. Population Dresden : , — Leipzig : , Among its many attractions are….

Part of the Semper Opera House can be seen on the right. You can enjoy the resulting art exhibitions as part of the Dresden State Art Collections. The Royal Palace today is devoted to art and science. Yes, plural because there are in fact two vault museums, each requiring a separate admission ticket. A total of about 4, valuable articles are normally on display. The Green Vault gained notoriety following a robbery in November The heist resulted in the loss of several very valuable items, including the Diamond Star of the Order of the White Eagle and a gold and silver sword, none of which has been recovered.

The total value of the stolen items has been estimated at more than one billion euros, but their cultural value is priceless. Erected in , the old synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis in the Kristallnacht pogroms of November The building features concrete made to look like the typical sandstone found in the region.

The complex includes a smaller building and a stone courtyard. You can also buy tickets for travel between 14 towns along the Elbe, a good way to get to Meissen or to the Pilnitz Palace. A day ticket that allows you to hop on and off whenever you like is a good way to spend a day exploring the Elbe towns.

Lunch and evening cruises, as well as special themed departures, are another option for seeing the river. Saxon Switzerland. A favorite day trip from Dresden is to Saxon Switzerland National Park , only 30 kilometers southeast of Dresden, a wild landscape of soaring limestone pillars, with views straight down to the Elbe.

Walking trails form a network throughout the park, with paths for all levels of energy, and since , a little tram has carried tourists between the village of Bad Schandau and the waterfall at Lichtenhain. The most famous sight is the Bastei Bridge , a meter-high stone arched bridge that connects the rock formations.

You can hike there or reach it by public transportation. There are several ways to get to Saxon Switzerland from Dresden: by car, by S-Bahn trains that leave Dresden twice each hour, by excursion boats, or by one of the world's oldest paddle wheel steamboats the most romantic way. Only 30 kilometers to the west and easy to reach on a day trip from Dresden, Meissen was once the seat of the long-reigning Wettin dynasty.

They made their home in the Albrechtsburg Castle , which towers above the town and river atop a high hill the climb through narrow lanes is picturesque but steep - you can avoid it by riding the funicular. Founded in the 15th century, the castle is one of the finest secular buildings of the Late Gothic period, and its most notable feature is its large spiral staircase.

Inside, the rooms have richly decorated vaulting and ceilings, with paintings dating from Adjoining it atop the crag is the Early Gothic Meissen Cathedral , dating from It is an almost pure Gothic building, with nothing but its Protestant pulpit, pews, and organ changed from its medieval appearance. The original front entrance was closed to preserve the early graves in the floor.

Meissen has long been famous for its porcelain, and a top tourist attraction is the Porcelain Manufactory. A tour there not only includes a look at examples of their work over the past years, but a chance to watch as skilled artists mold objects, sculpt the delicate blossoms, and figures that adorn Meissen figurines and paint flowers on plates and teacups.

The silver mining town of Freiberg , about 40 kilometers southwest of Dresden, is also home to a stunning cathedral, a Late Gothic hall-church with the oldest and largest surviving Silbermann organ in Saxony. The town's historic center is listed as a national monument. Dresden Transport Museum. Historic vehicles, including aircraft, steam engines, cars, motorbikes, and watercraft are displayed in engaging exhibits.

The navigation exhibit, entered through a stylized ship's hull, explores 1, years of maritime history, its technology, and the people who lived and worked on the rivers and seas.

Other exhibits detail the progress of road transport from before the invention of motorized vehicles to the present, and a third follows the development of railways. A model railroad covers square meters, with 26 locomotives pulling cars through detailed models of Saxon villages and countryside. Moritzburg Palace. About 14 kilometers northwest of Dresden is the remarkable Schloss Moritzburg, an Electoral hunting lodge and summer palace in the ochre and white of Saxon Baroque. Begun in as a modest hunting lodge, this stunning palace was given its present form between and , with Baroque statues added on the balustrades of the carriage ramp and terrace.

The decoration and furnishings of the interior, including hunting trophies and paintings, are preserved unaltered. Also on the grounds is Little Pheasant Castle , an 18th-century hunting lodge whose extraordinary interior is decorated with rare Rococo finishes : inlaid paneling of exotic woods; mural paintings on canvas; painted and gilded ceiling stucco; painted wood and plaster; faux marble; and walls finished in embroidered silk, feathers, and a remarkable combination of straw and pearls.

This rare interior has recently been restored by the World Monuments Fund. It's Christmas all year-round in the Erzgebirge, or Ore Mountains, about 90 minutes from Dresden and one of the most fascinating and little-known regions in Saxony. The long mining history led to a wooden Christmas ornament industry, which has remained active long after the mines closed. The central town in the region is Annaberg-Buchholz, crowned by the magnificent St. Annenkirche , a landmark with its meter-high tower.

Like much else in the town, the interior of the church is decorated with exceptionally fine woodcarvings. Opposite is a historical museum where you can enter an actual mine, one of the many that lie beneath the ground here.

Just outside the Old Town, the Frohnauer Hammer is a museum that includes a fascinating iron-working mill driven by water power. To the southeast of Dresden's old town is Lingnerplatz, home to the German Hygiene Museum Deutsches Hygiene-Museum , an institution founded in to promote health education and healthy living.

The museum is more interesting than you'd expect from its name - it's really a museum dedicated to medicine and medical practices. Among its many interesting exhibits are the famous Glass Woman, first displayed in ; a permanent exhibit dealing with the human race; and a fun interactive children's museum that focuses on the senses. The dazzlingly restored old town Innere Altstadt contains Dresden's top attractions and is a convenient place to stay despite its crush of tourists in the summer.

To be within walking distance of the Frauenkirche and Zwinger but away from crowds, consider the Neustadt neighborhood, just across the river and close to the Japanese Palace and folk art museum. These highly rated hotels in Dresden are all near the major tourist attractions. Places to Visit near Dresden: An easy train or car trip away, Leipzig is also a center of art and culture, and the leading city in Saxony after Dresden.

Where to Go from Dresden: To the north and connected by direct rail and highways is Berlin , the capital of Germany and its largest city, filled with museums and art galleries. Close to Berlin is Potsdam , like Dresden a city filled with royal palaces. Germany Travel Guide. Written by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers Updated Mar 29, We may earn a commission from affiliate links Dresden, one of Europe's greatest Baroque cities, about 30 kilometers north of the border with the Czech Republic, stands majestically astride the Elbe River.

See also: Where to Stay in Dresden Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues. Dresden Frauenkirche Dresden Frauenkirche Dresden's spectacular Frauenkirche is one of the most remarkable reconstruction projects ever to have taken place in Germany, if not the world. Rogers Photography If you have time to see nothing else in Dresden, it should be this and the Frauenkirche. Address: Taschenberg 2, Dresden.

Zwinger and Old Masters Picture Gallery Zwinger The Zwinger — a magnificent early 18th-century palace in the center of the city beside the Elbe — is one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in Germany. Semper Opera and Theaterplatz Theaterplatz and the Semper Opera The west side of Dresden's Theaterplatz, one of Germany's finest public squares, is dominated by the magnificent Semperoper, the city's opera house, built in the style of the Italian High Renaissance.

The name "Dresden" tends to evoke three images in people who are new to the city:. Baroque architecture , thanks to the Wettin dynasty's taste for culture and unrestrained spending, especially during the 17th and 18th Centuries;.

Porcelain , which was an obsession of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, who founded Europe's first white-porcelain factory in Dresden in ;. The fire bombing of Dresden in World War II, which killed an estimated 25, to 50, people and left much of the city in ruins. Today, the porcelain factory is no longer in the city center Augustus moved it to a castle in nearby Meissen , and few citizens of Dresden are old enough to remember the bombing raids. Most of the city's great Baroque architecture remains, however, thanks to reconstruction efforts during the Soviet occupation, the GDR era, and especially since German Reunification in Dresden is again one of the loveliest cities in Germany.

As a bonus, Dresden is a convenient gateway to the "Saxon Switzerland," the porcelain town of Meissen, the Erzegebirge or "Ore Mountains," the Saxon Wine Road, a large number of Saxon steam railways and railroad museums , and nearby cities such as Chemnitz and Leipzig. It's a great place to visit, and I'd recommend spending several days in Dresden--or even longer, if you have time.

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