Dresden

💡 About Dresden

Dresden, the capital of Saxony on the River Elbe, was once known as the "Florence on the Elbe" for its magnificent baroque architecture and its extraordinary collections of art assembled by the Saxon kings. Its skyline of domes, spires and palaces made it one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

In February 1945, Dresden was almost completely destroyed in one of the most devastating bombing raids of the Second World War, which created a firestorm that consumed the historic centre. In the decades since, the city has painstakingly rebuilt its treasures, stone by blackened stone.

The crowning achievement of this restoration is the Frauenkirche, a domed baroque church that lay in ruins for decades under communism and was rebuilt after reunification as a symbol of reconciliation and peace, using thousands of original stones salvaged from the rubble.

Today Dresden once again dazzles with the Zwinger palace, the Semperoper opera house and the treasure-filled Green Vault. Rising in beauty from the ashes of its own history, it is one of Germany's most moving and rewarding cities.

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