Dresden 2 without Rain

We started our morning walk with a cute statue with Joshua.

 

We walked around this morning and the first and most impressive place was the Zwinger Museum. It was originally built in 1719 by August the Strong and was modeled after Versailles.  He staged tournaments and kept dozens of concubines.

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68-tYSVKXIc
 If a picture is worth a 1000 words, a video is worth at least a million...

 

What is amazing is that these places were destroyed and then rebuilt 40 years or more later. There was quite a controversy with the Germans about rebuilding these structures due to the expense AND people not even having homes.

 

The Opera House on Theaterplatz

  

 

The Procession of Princes (Fürstenzug) is the largest porcelain mural in the world, depicting a parade of Saxonian princes and dukes to commemorate the 1000-year long reign of the Wettin dynasty. 330 feet long and made out of 25,000 tiles from the porcelain manufacturer Meissen, the mural covers the exterior of the Royal Mews in Auguststrasse.

 

 

 

 

The 200-year old Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady, completely collapsed after a firebombing in World War II; its ruins in the heart of Dresden were left untouched for over 40 years, symbolizing the destruction of war. In 1994, the Frauenkirche was reconstructed using original plans, and Dresden could celebrate the resurrection of its Frauenkirche in 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

Katholische Hofkirche is the largest church in Saxony. It was built by the son of August the Strong who ruled from 1733-1763. Residenzschloss, the former Royal Bank Palacen construction began in 1709 and Napoleon once stood there. Made of sandstone with a lot of iron, the buildings turn dark.