Dresden, home to an impressive Baroque- and Rococo-style historical city center and Germany's oldest Christmas market, was our destination on December 7! I headed south for two hours on a bus with some international students from my university and met up with another American participating in my program who lives in Dresden. She was nice enough to show us around the many sights her new city has to offer.
Anyone who's read Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five knows that Dresden was totally and completely flattened in 1945 by British and U.S. bombs, which resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 people. Thankfully, Dresden meticulously rebuilt all of its cultural wonders and beautiful buildings that have earned it the nickname "Florence of the North."
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| Just a sample of Dresden's city center. On the left, the Dresden Cathedral; on the right, the Dresden Castle |
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| Another famous sight is the Semper Opera House, built between 1871 and 1878. Its post-WWII reconstruction lasted until 1985. Today, it's apparently the most famous opera house in Germany |
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| My American friend, fellow CBYX participant, and tour guide for the day |
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| Greek and Korean friends |
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| Even Dresden's train station was ready for the holidays |
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| Inside the Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross), which was built between 1764 and 1800 |
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| Next up was the enormous Zwinger Palace, built on the city's former fortifications between 1710 and 1728 and originally meant for court festivities |
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| The crown gate is one of the structure's most famous features |
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| The Rampart Pavilion, topped by Hercules |
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| The Glockenspielpavilion |
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| A new(er) wing added in the 19th century |
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| This is the Nymphenbad Fountain, which was constructed from 1710 to 1738 and inspired by Roman and Tuscan orginals |
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| The Dresden Castle, or Residenzschloss, boasts a Neorenaissance and lots of towers. It was built between the 14th and 16th centuries, and reconstruction after WWII only began in 1985 |
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| Another look at the Baroque Dresden Cathedral, or Katholische Hofkirche, built betwen 1738 and 1755 |
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| Schlossplatz is the center of the old town in Dresden. On three sides it is surrounded by pretty historical buildings |
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| Dresden Castle again |
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| Katholische Hofkirche. It's very tall and hard to squeeze in a picture. Its exterior has no fewer than 78 different stone figures of apostles, saints, and church dignitaries |
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| The Procession of Princes displays all the rulers of Saxony from 1123 to 1904. The mural is made of 24,000 tiles of china. The first version was completed in 1876 |
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| A pyramid in one of Dresden's many Christmas markets in front of the Frauenkirche, one of Dresden's most famous landmarks. This church sports a characteristic dome made out of stone |
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| The Frauenkirche and a christmas market |
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| Another look at the old town, this time from the Brühlsche Terrasse |
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| This is a famous scene. Especially for me, as it graces the cover of my treasured Rick Steves Guide to Germany book! The buildings are so big and so close together that I had to take three pictures and stick them together to make this. Dresden castle on the left, Dresden Cathedral on the right. Even more to the right and in the background is the opera house |
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| Now, inside the Frauenkirche (the church with the stone dome that we saw earlier). The huge stone dome collapsed, along with almost all of the rest of the structure, during the 1945 bombings. The remains were left standing as an anti-war memorial until the early 1990s. After the reunification of Germany (Dresden is located in former East Germany), the rebuilding process began and was only completed in 2003 |
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| Later found out that pictures weren't technically allowed inside. Oops. But no regrets |
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| The stone dome from the inside |
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| The church was first built from 1726 to 1743 |
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| Frauenkirche from the outside again. The darker stones are from the original, pre-WWII structure |
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| Looking towards the Kunstakademie, built in the late 19th century, destroyed in WWII, and reopened in 2005 |
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| Kunstakademie again. I find it funny that its dome is nicknamed the "lemon squeezer" (Zitronenpresse) due to its shape |
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| Next, our American friend took us to the other side of the River Elbe and away from the old town. We visited the Kunsthof, which is an arcade passageway that contains five courtyards and numerous galleries and shops. This is in the "Elements" courtyard, and this structure turns into a musical instrument when it rains |
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| The passageway was bustling with activity. Here, German children roasting some food on an open fire. Chestnuts? Nope. Marshmellows for s'mores? Nope, and the Germans don't really know what s'mores are anyway. It's bread! Typical Germans, crazy about bread (But understandably so, as it's very good here.) |
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| Coming back across a bridge and back towards the old town at just the right time of day. I actually planned it that way so I could get this shot |
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| Totally worth making my friends and myself all almost freeze in the cold wind blowing steadily across the bridge |
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| Oops, couldn't really see the background when we were all in the photo |
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| Frauenkirche by night |
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| Dresdeners love these little Christmas stars |
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| And now, the grand finale - Germany's oldest and one of its biggest Christmas markets: The Striezelmarkt! |
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| This market was started in 1434 and was originally just a one-day market for the sale of meat. Then it was used to sell "Striezel," which is a Christmas bread still sold today. We had a slice and it was quite tasty. Later, the diversity of goods being offered increased to where it is now - a complete Christmas market |
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| The market celebrated its 580th anniversary this year |
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| 2.5 million people visit each year! |
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| The Kreuzkirche in the background. You saw the interior at the start of this post |
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| It's not a Christmas market if it doesn't have hot Glühwein. This is of the apple cinammon variety |
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| Prost! (Cheers!) |
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| The 46-foot Christmas pyramid here is one of the world's largest (and was THE largest in 1999) |
That sums up our trip to Dresden! Big thanks to Nicole, our American tour guide who led us around her town's sights, which by then she had already seen about umpteen times.
Next up for this blog - not one, but TWO Berlin Christmas markets... I hope you're still in the Christmas spirit!
