DRESDEN (drez'den), the capital of Saxony, formerly a kingdom, but now a state in the German Republic; situated in a beautiful valley on both sides of the river Elbe. It is first mentioned in his tory in 1206, was greatly extended and Green Vault) a valuable collection of curiosities, jewels, trinkets, and works of art.
The city is distinguished for its excel lent educational, literary, and artistic institutions, among which are the Poly technic School, much on the plan and scale of a university; the Conservatory and School of Music; the Academy of Fine Arts, etc. The manufactures are various in character; the china, however, for which the city is famed is made chiefly at Meissen, 14 miles distant. The commerce is considerable. The chief glory of Dresden is the gallery of pic tures, one of the finest in the world, which first became of importance under Augustus II., King of Poland, and Elec
tor of Saxony, but owes its most valuable treasures to Augustus III., who pur chased the greater portion of the gallery of the Duke of Modena for $900,000. The pictures number about 25,000, and in particular comprise many fine specimens of the Italian. Dutch, and Flemish schools. Besides this fine collection the museum contains also engravings and drawings amounting to upward of 350 000. There is here also a rich collection of casts exemplifying the progress of sculpture from the earliest times, and including copies of all the most important antiques. It suffered severely in the Thirty Years' War, and also in 1813, when it was the headquarters of Napo leon's army. It was occupied by the Prussians in 1866, but was evacuated in the following spring. Pop. about 550,000.