I arrived in Dresden on 13th February which, as fateful coincidence would have it, is the anniversary of the allied bombing in 1945. This is still marked in the city, in quite a significant way. Whilst I believe there were a number of events during the day the main event saw people joining hands around the centre of Dresden at 18:00 hours. At the time I saw this I didn’t realise the significance of it, but it was quite a sight. Apparently the event has been quite political in the past, and I did see some demonstrations earlier in the day. It is interesting how the bombing is still so significant to Dresden in a way that I don’t think it is in (say) Coventry which was equally hit.
Some of the impact of this I understood from visiting the Dresden City Museum, which had a good permanent exhibition that looked back through the city’s history from the base of the Kings of Saxony to the present day. It did not shy away from some of the more difficult aspects (such as the Nazis and the Communists) and was the better for it. Also on a combined ticket with this was the city’s art gallery which had a varied collection.
This was not the only art gallery around though – far from it. Whilst the “Old Master’s Gallery” was closed, the “New Masters’ Gallery” and Sculpture Collection were open in the Albertinium and worth a visit, particularly the current temporary exhibition from Rosa Barba which had some clever pieces using film projection. (I am also pleased to report that there was a Barbara Hepworth piece within the Sculpture Collection!) Possibly the most interesting art venue was the Kunsthaus Dresden where the main display is currently about Leoni Worth who built a number of public sculptures and areas during DDR times. Whilst some of them have since gone there are still some remnants that can be seen in the developing city. A bit further out of town (near the Blaues Wonder bridge) was the Leonhardi museum which had a set of works by Tobias Stengel who combined art and mathematical thinking.
As mentioned there are a number of historic buildings in Dresden, and it is only through closer looking that you seen that they have been in part or fully rebuilt. On my first afternoon I climbed the dome of the Frauenkirche Church which gave views out over the city. However the “ease” of the climb (compared to some other churches) might have given a clue that it had been rebuilt. A number of other churches that I visited had also been rebuilt, although some also showed the scars of the war still.
The Zwinger Palace is a collection of linked pavilions based around a large courtyard. Usually the main highlight there is the Old Masters’ Gallery, but that was shut during my visit. Still there to visit through were the Porcelain Collection and the Maths and Physics Salon which focused on burning mirrors, telescopes, timepieces and globes.
The Residenzschloss (Royal Palace) was another building that had been rebuilt, and hosted a number of different museums. The main highlight was the Historisches Grunes Gewolbe (Historic Green Vault) which presented the collection of the Saxony Royal family in the original display rooms (some rebuilt). This was a fantastic collection of gold, bronze, amber, jewels and ivory that coupled with the rooms they were in was quite stunning (although it was slightly disconcerting that the only message around ivory was “isn’t it beautiful” rather than a comment on the standards of the time...)
Also at the Royal Palace were the New Green Vault (more treasures, presented in more of a museum environment), Coin Cabinet, Armoury, Turkish Chamber and a more modern Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs.
A number of these attractions I visited using the Dresden museums card. This gave access to “14” museums (although, as you will have seen buy now many of these were really the same venue) over 2 days for €22 (worth noting at the palace though that the Historisches Grunes Gewolbe was an additional €12 – but worth it). You do have to watch out for the right days though – fortunately the Castle was open on a Monday when most other attractions on the card were closed otherwise I would have had an even busier Sunday than I ended up having! I also visited the tunnels under the city that were part of the old city walls and defences.
One bonus place to visit was the Military History Museum, which offered free entry on a Monday evening which coupled with the free public transport I had with my hotel meant there was no reason not to visit. However, it nearly ended disastrously when I lost the token for my coat which I had checked in. Thankfully, playing the dumb Englishman I managed to get it back (from the huge number of coats they had checked in). The museum itself was an interesting construction with a modern extension cutting through an older building and had a lot of content within it well displayed.
Also in Dresden I got the opportunity to reacquaint myself with a few German shops – I am pleased to report that Woolworths is still going in Germany (as, of course, is C&A).
Overall, Dresden was a really surprising city to visit. There was much more to see and do there than there would be in an equivalent British city. The old buildings on face value are quite beautiful, and the history gives it another dimension. I am really pleased I went there.
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