DRESDEN, Germany, capital of Saxony, situated in a valley on the river Elbe. On the left bank are Altstadt (Old Town), Friedrich stadt and other quarters, and on the right the Neustadt (New Town) and the Antonstadt. The municipal area received a large extension in 1897. The portion on the right bank, called the Neustadt since 1732, is really the older, and was formerly known as Old Dresden. Among the structures worthy of notice are the five bridges across the Elbe, noted for their solidity, the first built in 1173; the Sophienkirche or Protestant Court Church; the Roman Catholic Court Church, which contains several fine pictures; the church of Our Lady, an imposing edifice; the church of Saint John; the royal palace; the law courts; the museum, a beautiful building containing a famous picture gallery and other treasures, and forming a wing of the building known as the Zwinger, which contains zoological and other collections; the Japanese Palace (Augusteum), containing the public library of about 570,000 volumes besides a rich collection of antiquities; the Johanneum, now containing the collection of porcelain and the historical museum, a valuable collection of arms, armor, domestic utensils, etc., belonging to the Middle Ages. The royal palace is unattractive exter nally, but has a fine interior adorned with fres coes, and the Green Vault contains a most valua ble collection of jewels and small works of art. There is a fine park of 300 acres. The city is distinguished for its excellent educational, lit erary and artistic institutions, among which are the Polytechnic School with 1,500 students, or ganized much on the plan and scale of a univer sity; an important military academy, Dresden being the headquarters of the 12th Army Corps; the Conservatory and School of Music ,• the Academy of Fine Arts; the Royal School, for drawing, modeling, etc. It is an important centre of the drama ; the municipality owns three theatres; and the Court Theatre, a large and splendid edifice opened in 1878, which specializes in the adequate production of master pieces in drama and opera, is one of the most famous in the world. The manufactures of Dresden are not unimportant and are various in character; the china, however, for which the city is famed, is made chiefly at Meissen, 14 miles distant. In Dresden are made articles in gold and silver, mathematical and surgical in struments, straw hats and plait, artificial flowers, gloves, leather, cigars and cigarettes, musical in struments, chemicals, perfumes, mineral waters, chocolate, playing-cards, etc. There are large breweries, and in the neighborhood there are coal mines, iron and glass works and manufac tories of machinery, chemical stuffs, etc. The commerce is considerable and of late years, since the development of the railway system, the trade with foreign parts has considerably in creased. A good deal of business is done with the upper parts of the Elbe by means of the steamers, which ply as far up as Tetschen.
The gallery of pictures, one of the finest in the world and especially rich in the works of Italian and Dutch masters, was begun very early, but first became of much importance under Augustus II, king of Poland and elector of Saxony. It owes its most valuable treasures, however, to Augustus III, a prodigal monarch, who exhausted his country by his extravagances. He purchased the greater portion of the gallery of the Duke of Modena for $900,000, and many single pictures, among them Raphael's master piece, the
painting is in a room alone, no other picture being hung near it. The pictures number about 25,000 and in particular comprise many fine specimens of the Italian, Dutch and Flemish Schools. From the Dutch school there are, among others, some 40 Rubenses, 20 Van Dycks, over 20 Rembrandts, besides Ostades, Gerard Dows, Teniers, Wouvermanns, etc. Of the old German school Holbein's (Madonna,' a sublime work, is particularly distinguished. Of the French school there are many Claude Lorraines, Poussins, Le Bruns and others. Of the Italian school the gallery is rich in pictures of Cor reggio, including his famous (La Notte> or (Holy Night' ; of Raphael, the 'Madonna di Sisto,' the (Madonna della Seggiola) and others. There are also works of Leonardo da Vinci, Giulio Romano, Andrea del Sarto, Battoni Titian —his famous
and
Tribute Money,' Garofalo, Paolo Veronese, Quido Reni, Carracci, Carlo Dolce, and every distinguished Italian painter. Many modern painters are also represented, among them Hofmann and several specimens from the Diisseldorf school. Murillo and Velasquez are represented by one picture each. This collection is liberally open every day to all visitors. Besides this fine gallery of pictures the museum contains also a collection of engravings and drawings, in all amounting to upward of 350,000. There is here also a rich col lection of casts exemplifying the progress of sculpture from the earliest times and including copies of all the most important antiques, made under the direction of Raphael Mengs, in Italy. The collection of antiques in the Japanese Palace contains some excellent statues, among which are distinguished three female figures from Herculaneum. The Johanneum Museum con tains a historical museum and a large variety of specimens of Chinese, Japanese, East Indian. SkTres, Meissen, etc., porcelain ware, arranged chronologically. Dresden being thus rich in treasures of art and favored by a beautiful natural situation is the summer resort of many foreigners.
Dresden is of Slavonic origin and first came under German and Christian influence after the subjugation of the Slays, about the year 922. At the beginning of the 13th century it is mentioned in documents as a city and as a residence of the margraves of Meissen. Since 1485 it has been the residence of the rulers of Saxony. In the first half of the 18th century i it was greatly em bellished, but suffered much in the Seven Years' War. In 1760 for nine days it was bombarded by Frederick the Great. Austrians occu pied the city in 1809 without it. The campaign of 1813 was most ruinous for the city and its environs. From May till about the mid dle of September it was held by Napoleon, and severe fighting in and around the city took place almost every day. After some years of war and suffering on 7 June 1815 peace and industry re turned to the "German Florence," as Herder calls Dresden. After that time dwelling-houses, gardens and parks took the place of the former fortifications. During the revolutionary move ment of 1849 it suffered severely. In 1866 it was occupied by the Prussians, but was evacuated in the following spring. It has been greatly beau tified and extended in recent times (especially under the auspices of King John), and its popu lation is rapidly increasing. Pop. 548,308.