Dresden, Germany

We’re probably showing our age; mention Dresden and we think of porcelain – and bombs.

It’s possible, though, that for some visitors to this German city – at least those from generations after ours – neither Dresden porcelain nor the devastating allied bombing raids of WWII, are top of mind.

To visit Dresden’s historic centre today is to see a splendid city – albeit one rebuilt from rubble. But it wasn’t until the fall of the Berlin Wall, almost 50 years after the end of the war, that reconstruction money began to flow into the city. And it was only in 2005, that the spire of the famed Frauenkirche church rose once more to dominate the Dresden skyline.

Arriving into Dresden it immediately 'feels' like you're in Germany - things seem nicely structured and ordered

But it's not long before you're surrounded by the ornate beauty of the Old Town

The Frauenkirche, the Church of our Lady, is an important symbol of renewal for the people of Dresden

Dresden Castle on the right (from 1535), and the Catholic Cathedral on the left (1739)

Though Dresden was Protestant in the mid-18th century, the ruler Augustus III was Catholic, so he built a cathedral next to his castle and added a handy above-ground walkway to connect the two

Both buildings were severely damaged during the war

The Semperoper, Dresden's opera house and concert hall has had a few lives; the building was destroyed by fire in 1869, rebuilt in 1878, bombed in 1945, finally reopened in 1985, severely damaged by flooding in 2002 and repaired later that year with funds raised from around the world

In 1876 this 100m-long mural was created to celebrate the history of Saxony's ruling family

In 1907 the original painting was replicated using more than 23,000 porcelain tiles; somehow the work managed to survive the war almost unscathed

Dresden has been described as the 'Florence on the Elbe', due in part to the important art collections housed here

The city's Old Masters Gallery can be found in the magnificent Zwinger Palace

The collection includes some of the finest works from the 15th to the 18th centuries

Raphael's 'Sistine Madonna' is one of the highlights

Among the Tizians, Rubens, Van Eycks and Van Dykks ...

 

 

... we found Rembrandt's beloved Saskia ('Portrait of Saskia with a Flower,' 1641); it was a lovely finale to our visit to Dresden