Dresden

DRESDEN, a city of Germany, capital of the Land of Saxony, 71 m. E.S.E. from Leipzig and III m. S. from Berlin by railway. Pop. mainly Lutheran. It lies 402 ft. above the Baltic, in a broad valley on both banks of the Elbe. The prospect of cupolas, towers, spires and copper green roofs is of striking beauty. On the left bank of the river are the Alt stadt (old town) with old and new suburbs, and the Friedrich stadt (separated from the Altstadt by a long railway viaduct) ; on the right, the Neustadt (new town), Antonstadt, and Alber stadt. Five fine bridges connect the Altstadt and Neustadt. The beautiful central bridge—the Alte or Augustusbrucke—with 16 arches, built in 1727-1731, and 1,42o ft. long, has been demolished (1906) and replaced by a wider structure. Up-stream are the two modern Albert and Konigin Carola bridges, and, down-stream, the Marien and the Eisenbahn (railway) bridges.

History.

Dresden (Old Slav Drezga, forest, Drezgajan, for-. est-dwellers), which is known to have existed in 1206, is of Sla vonic origin, and was originally founded on the right bank of the Elbe, on the site of the present Neustadt, which is thus actually the old town. It became the capital of Henry the Illustrious, mar grave of Meissen, in 1270, but belonged for some time after his death, first to Wenceslaus of Bohemia, and next to the margrave of Brandenburg. Early in the i4th century it was restored to the margrave of Meissen. On the division of Saxony in 1485 it fell to the Albertine line, which has since held it. Having been burned almost to the ground in 1491, it was rebuilt; and in the 16th century the fortifications were begun and gradually extended. John George II., in the 17th century, formed the Grosser Garten, and otherwise greatly improved the town ; in the first half of the i8th century, Augustus I. and Augustus II., kings of Poland as well as electors of Saxony, modernized Dresden. The Neustadt, which had been burned down in the l7th century, was founded anew by Augustus I.; he also founded Friedrichstadt. The town was bombarded in 176o during the Seven Years' War. Napoleon made it a centre of operations in 1813, and one buttress and two arches of the old bridge were blown up. The dismantling of the fortifications, begun by the French in 181o, was completed after 1817, and gardens and promenades made. Many buildings were completed or founded by King Anthony, from whom Antonstadt derives its name. Dresden again suffered severely during the revo lution of 1849, but all traces of the disturbances which then took place were soon effaced. In 1866 it was occupied by the Prussians, who did not finally evacuate it until the spring of the following year. There was a good deal of fighting in the streets during the year of 1919.

Situation and Buildings.

Dresden is often called "German Florence," because of its situation, its art treasures and the edu cational advantages it offers. Within two decades (1880-1900) the capital almost at a single bound advanced into the front rank of German commercial and industrial towns; but while gaining in prosperity it has lost much of its mediaeval aspect, and old build ings in the heart of the Altstadt have been swept away. The Theaterplatz in the Altstadt is especially fine.

The most imposing churches include the Roman Catholic Hof kirche, built (1739-1751) by C. Chiaveri, in rococo style, with a tower 30o ft. high. It contains a fine organ and pictures, the outside being adorned with 59 statues. On the Neumarkt is the Frauenkirche, with stone cupola rising 311 ft.; close to the Alt markt, the Kreuzkirche, rebuilt after destruction by fire in 1897, also with a lofty tower surmounted by a cupola; and near the Postplatz the Sophienkirche, with twin spires. In the Neustadt is the Dreikonigskirche (dating from the i8th century) with a high pinnacled tower.

The former royal palace in the Altstadt built in 1530-1535 by Duke George (and thus called Georgenschloss), was thoroughly restored between 1890 and 1902, in German Renaissance style. The Georgentor has been widened, and through it, and beneath the royal apartments, vehicular traffic from the centre of the town is directed to the Augustusbriicke. The whole is surmounted by a lofty tower-387 ft.—the highest in Dresden. The interior is splendidly decorated. In the palace chapel are pictures by Rem brandt, Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni and Annibale Caracci. The adjoining Prinzen-Palais on the Taschenberg, built in 1715, has a fine chapel, in which are various works of S. Torelli ; it has also a library of 20,000 volumes. The Zwinger, begun in 171 i in the rococo style was intended to be the vestibule to a palace, but now contains a number of collections of great value. Until 1846 it was open at the north side ; but this space has since been occupied by the museum, a building in Renaissance style, the exterior of which is adorned by statues of Michelangelo, Raphael, Giotto, Dante, Goethe and other artists and poets by Rietschel and Hahnel, and it contains the famous picture gallery. The Briihl palace, built in 1737 by Count Briihl, minister of Augustus II., has been in some measure demolished to make room for the new Standehaus (diet house), with its main facade facing the Hof kirche ; before the main entrance there is an equestrian statue (1906) of King Albert. Close by is the Briihl Terrace, approached by a fine flight of steps, on which are groups, by Schilling, repre senting Morning, Evening, Day and Night. The terrace com mands a view of the Elbe and the distant heights of Loschwitz and the Weisser Hirsch, but the prospect has become somewhat marred, owing to the extension of the town up the river and to the two new up-stream bridges. The Japanese palace in the Neustadt, built in 1715 as a summer residence for Augustus II., receives its name from certain oriental figures with which it is decorated; it is sometimes called the Augusteum and contains the library. Among other buildings of note is the Hof theater, in the Renais sance style, built after the designs of Semper, to replace the theatre burnt in 1869, and completed in 1878. A new town hall of huge dimensions, also in German Renaissance, with an octagon tower 40o ft. in height, stands on the former southern ramparts of the inner town, close to the Kreuzkirche ; in it the diet of Saxony now meets. In the Altstadt the most striking of the newer edifices is the Kunstakademie. The Albertinum, formerly the arsenal, built in 1559-1563, was rebuilt 1884-1889, and fitted up as a museum of oriental and classical antiquities, and as the depository of the state archives. On the right bank of the Elbe in Neustadt stand many administrative buildings. In the suburbs which encircle the old town are to be noted the vast central Hauptbahnhof (1893-1898) occupying the site of the old Bob mischer railway station, the municipal hospital and the exhibi tion buildings.

The chief pleasure-ground of Dresden is the Grosser Garten, in which there are a summer theatre, the Reitschel museum and a chateau containing a museum of antiquities, chiefly objects re moved from the churches in consequence of the Reformation. Near the chateau is the zoological garden, formed in 186o. A little south of Dresden, on the left bank of the Elbe, is the village Racknitz, in which is Moreau's monument, erected on the spot where he was mortally wounded in 1813. The mountains of Saxon Switzerland are seen from this neighbourhood, and are much visited in summer.

Art.—Dresden owes part of its fame to its splendid picture gallery, founded by Augustus I. and increased by his successors at great cost. It is in the museum, and contains about 2,50o pic tures, being especially rich in specimens of the Italian, Dutch and Flemish schools. The gem of the collection is Raphael's "Madonna di San Sisto," for which a room is set apart. There is also a special room for the "Madonna" of the younger Holbein. Other paintings with which the name of the gallery is generally asso ciated are Correggio's "La Notte" and "Mary Magdalene"; Titian's "Tribute Money" and "Venus" ; "The Adoration" by Paul Veronese ; Andrea del Sarto's "Abraham's Sacrifice"; Rem brandt's "Portrait of Himself with his Wife sitting on his Knee"; "The Judgment of Paris" and "The Boar Hunt," by Rubens; Van Dyck's "Charles I., his Queen and their Children." Of modern painters, this magnificent collection contains master pieces by Tefregger, Vautier, Makart, Munkacsy, Fritz von Uhde, Bocklin, Hans Thoma; portraits by Leon Pohle, Delaroche and Sargent ; landscapes by Andreas and Oswald Achenbach and allegorical works by Sascha Schneider. In separate compartments there are a number of crayon portraits, most of them by Rosalba Carriera, and views of Dresden by Canaletto and other artists. Besides the picture gallery the museum includes a magnificent collection of engravings and drawings, arranged so as to mark the great epochs in the history of art. A collection of casts, likewise in the museum, is designed to display the progress of plastic art from the time of the Egyptians and Assyrians to modern ages. This collection was begun by Raphael Mengs, who secured casts of the most valuable antiques in Italy, some of which no longer exist.

The Japanese palace contains a large public library with about 3,00o mss. and 20,000 maps. It is especially rich in the ancient classics, and in works bearing on literary history and the history of Germany, Poland and France. There are also a valuable cabi net of coins and a collection of ancient works of art. A collection of porcelain in the "Museum Johanneum" (which once contained the picture gallery) is made up of specimens of Chinese, Japanese, East Indian, Sevres and Meissen manufacture, carefully arranged in chronological order. There is in the same building an excel lent historical museum. In the Griine Gewolbe (Green Vault) of the Royal Palace, so called from the character of its original decorations, there is an unequalled collection of precious stones, pearls and works of art in gold, silver, amber and ivory. The ob jects, which are about 3,00o in number, are arranged in eight rooms. They include the regalia of Augustus II. as king of Poland ; the electoral sword of Saxony; a group by Dinglinger, in gold and enamel, representing the court of the grand mogul Aurung zebe, and consisting of 132 figures upon a plate of silver 4 ft. 4 in. square; the largest onyx known, 6J in. by 2+ in. ; a pearl repre senting the dwarf of Charles II. of Spain ; and a green brilliant weighing 4o carats. The royal palace also has a gallery of arms consisting of more than 2,000 weapons of artistic or historical value. In the Zwinger are the zoological and mineralogical mu seums and a collection of instruments used in mathematical and physical science. The Korner museum contains numerous remi niscences of the Goethe-Schiller epoch, and of the wars of libera tion (I 813–I 5 ).

Education.—Dresden is the seat of a number of well-known scientific associations. The educational institutions are numerous and of a high order, including a technical high school (with about 'Jo() students), which enjoys the privilege of conferring the de grees of doctor of engineering, doctor of technical sciences, etc., a veterinary college, a political-economic institution (Gehestif tung), with library, a school of architects, a royal and four munic ipal gymnasia, numerous lower grade and popular schools, the royal conservatorium for music and drama, and a celebrated academy of painting.

Music.—The orchestra attached to the Ho/theater, founded by Augustus II., has become famous throughout the world, owing to its masters, Paer, Weber, Reissiger and Wagner. Symphony and popular concerts are held throughout the year in various public halls, and, during the winter, concerts of church music are fre quently given in the churches.

Communications and Industries.

Dresden lies at the centre of an extensive railway system, which places it in communication with the chief cities of northern and central Germany as well as with Austria and the East. Here cross the grand trunk lines Berlin-Vienna, Chemnitz-Gorlitz-Breslau. It is connected by two lines of railway with Leipzig and by local lines with neighbouring smaller towns. The navigation on the Elbe has largely developed, and, in addition to trade by river with Bohemia and Magdeburg Hamburg, there is a considerable pleasure-boat traffic during the summer months. Among the more notable industries may be men tioned the manufacture of china (see CERAMICS), of gold and sil ver ornaments, cigarettes, chocolate, coloured postcards, per fumery, leather, lace, soap, straw-plaiting, artificial flowers, agri cultural machinery, paper, musical, photographic and other instru ments. There are several distilleries and breweries ; corn trade is carried on, and an extensive business is done in books and objects of art.

See Lindau, Geschichte der Haupt- and Residenzstadt Dresden (2 vols., Dresden, 1884-85) ; Prolss, Geschichte des Ho/theaters in Dresden (Dresden, 1877) ; Schumann, Fiihrer durch die Konigl. Samm lungen zu Dresden (1903) ; Woerl, Fiihrer durch Dresden; Daniel, Deutschland (1894) ; Mary Endell, Dresden: History, Stage, Gallery (Dresden, 1908) ; S. Ruge, Dresden and die Sachsische Schweiz (Biele feld [ 171 p.1, 1913) ; 0. Trautman, Altendresden, Neues Archiv fur Shchsische Geschichte and Altertumskunde, Bd. 46, p. 78-94 (Dresden, 1925) ; 0. E. Schmidt, "Die Besiedlung des sachsischen Elbkessels and die Anfange von Dresden," Neues Archie fur sachsische Geschichte and Altertumskunde, Bd. 48, p. 31--6o (Dresden, 1927).