Dresden

History

It was initially only one village of fishermen and peasants; it is not quoted for the first time in 1206. Dresden was often devastated by the armies, in particular during the Guerre Seven Year old (1756 - 1763) and during the battles of 1813. Its fortifications were destroyed in 1815. A peace treaty, which ensured the Silesia the Prussia, there was concluded in 1745 between the Austria, the Prussia and the Saxony. Napoleon I {{er}} held in 1812 to with it a famous congress. It beat there, the 26 and the August 27th 1813, the combined army of the Austrians, the Russians and the Prussians (see Bataille of Dresden).

The city develops at the beginning of the 18th century with the baroque unit of the Zwinger, the Japanese Palate and the Hofkirche. Dresden accommodates exceptional collections of works of Article.

A third of the city was destroyed 13 with the February 15th 1945 by the Royal Air Force (mainly), with the support of the United States Air Force. This destruction was in fact a revenge on the allies, the Luftwaffe had indeed destroyed the town of Coventry four years earlier (14 November 15th, 1940). 650.000 incendiary bombs of a total weight of 7.000 tons fell on the city, killing 135.000 people of which only 25.000 could be identified.

Post-war period

To the difficult situation of the post-war period the mode Communiste followed where many efforts of rebuilding of the old city Baroque are made.

The efforts of restoration of the Florence of Elba , have regard to the exceptional cultural stake of the unit, were really considerable, and accelerated since the Réunification. To tell the truth, one for a long time did not see so many historical buildings rebuilt on the same site in if little time. Here are some:

First of all, the opera Semper (Semperoper in German) according to its architect Gottfried Semper , whose rebuilding was done in two phases: one rebuilt initially outside between 1952 and 1956 (with Herbert Schneider), from the vague point of view of a later modernistic confusion a little to the manner of the theater Sarah-Bernard, before deciding in 1977 for a rebuilding with identical of the interior, inaugurated in large pump the March 13rd 1985 by a representation of the Freischütz .

The Palate Zwinger due to Permoser and Pöppelmann , delicate baroque unit comprising a marvellous house and a single triumphal arch in the world (Kronentor), there remained nothing, was entirely rebuilt between 1945 and 1963 under the direction of Hubert Ermisch, Arthur Frenzel and max Zimmermann. It is reflected again in charming basin which surrounds it.

The Frauenkirche, masterpiece of the evangelic architecture, built formerly by Georg Bähr and destroyed not by the bombs but by a fire in its cellars, vast church baroque which was in Dresden what Notre-Dame is with Paris, has just been practically finished in record time, for a budget which represents the quarter of what the Opéra Bastille cost Paris. The funds come from " loteries" where each one can give for the rebuilding and of many private contributions. The rebuilding of Frauenkirche has of private individual that, not only it was rebuilt with identical, but by re-using all recoverable materials of origin. I.e. the stones of the ruins were numbered, sorted, and given to their old place. The missing materials are replaced by the new ones. It is what gives this special air to the church, which combines black stones and white stones. Initially, it was not envisaged of not rebuilt the church, but to leave the ruins in their state and to make a memorial of it; it is what explains, with the basic lack and the little of importance attached to the religion by the Communist regime, the late rebuilding of Frauenkirche.

The Palate Cosel, of Johann Christoph Knöffel (1744 - 1746), beautiful building of six floors of an obvious urban interest by its situation with the accesses of the close buildings, rebuilt under the direction of Walter Kaplan (1998 - 2000), with a perfectly camouflaged addition of underground car park.

Kanzleihaus, remarkable Renaissance palate builds between 1565 and 1567 by Hans Irmisch, of which the ruins had survived, rebuilt in 1998 under the direction of Professor Gerhard Burger, architect as a chief of the historic buildings.

This list gives only some examples of what it is agreed to call the Rebirth of Dresden. One also considers the rebuilding of many buildings of less importance, these minor fabrics contributing to the general aspect of the historical cities. With a same aim, one carried out the demolition of hideous modern buildings, such as the building of the central Police force, concrete disaster together which disfigured the place of the market and the surroundings of Frauenkirche.

The efforts of rebuilding accelerated with the reunification of Germany and will culminate in 2006 for the 800 years festivals of the city. If the rebuildings continued at the rate/rhythm and with the orientation current, the tragedy of 1945, from an architectural point of view, would be about cancelled about 2025, a fortiori if one rebuilds middle-class Dresden of XIX^e century and his buildings historicists (to some extent “the local haussmannien”), whose marvellous villas of the surroundings give an idea of the richness and beauty. At all events, Dresden, again almost as beautiful as formerly, is become again, with Heidelberg, Bamberg or Ratisbon, one of the high-places of tourism in Germany.

Dresden plays also a big role in the musical life with the orchestra of the Staatskapelle , one of the oldest formations of the world since created in 1548, and that of the opera ( Staatsoper ).

The Vallée from Elba in Dresden was registered, in 2004, on the Liste of the world heritage by UNESCO and was placed in July 2006 on the red list of the sites of the world heritage in danger because of the construction project of a new bridge on Elba " Waldschlösschenbrücke".

The party of Extreme-right-hand side NPD (“left national democratic Germany”, approximately 5 000 members) obtained 9,2% of the voices at the time of the elections at the Parliament of Saxony in 2004. The February 13rd 2005, at the time of the commemorations of the bombardment of Dresden in 1945, between 3 000 and 5 000 demonstrators of Extreme-right-hand side expressed before the Parliament of Saxony. 70 people were challenged following confrontations.

Policy

Mayor

Ingolf Roßberg, (FDP), suspended since May 16th, 2006 and condemned by the court of Dresden on September 4th for corruption. The call is in hand. Dr. Lutz Vogel, first assistant, takes over temporarily the duties.

Elections of the town council

Twinnings

Education

With Dresden there are several universities of which most important is the University of Technology of Dresden with 34.993 students.

Close sites

Radebeul , a town of wine, a beautiful town of boom in industry, between Meissen and Dresden.
Meissen : to 15 km of Dresden, the city is the capital of the Dresden china. Manufacture was founded in 1710.
the Swiss saxonne : between the Czech border and Dresden, the meanders of Elba are strewn with very spectacular sandstone rocks.

External bonds

bombardment of Dresden
http://www.suisse-saxonne.de the “Canyonland” of Germany (30 kilometers in the south of Dresden)
http://www.dresden-lexikon.de/?ALL+FR-Einleit.htm Dresden - Introduction into French (dictionary in German or in English)
http://www.dresden.de/pdf/dwt/sights_franzoesisch.pdf
Photographs and information of Dresden
StadtPanoramen Dresden - Dresden in panoramic images
http://www.tu-dresden.de/aaa/fra/auslandstud/dresden.php
Article on the controversy carrying on the number of deaths caused by the Anglo-American bombardment

Roa-rup: Dresden Simple: Dresden

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