Dresden was in the GDR or the Federal Republic of Germany. Postwar Dresden: Rebirth from Ruins

Dresden (Germany) - the most detailed information about the city with a photo. The main attractions of Dresden with a description, guides and maps.

City Dresden (Germany)

Dresden is a city in East Germany, the capital of the state of Saxony. It is one of the most important cultural centers of the country and one of its largest cities, which is often called "Florence on the Elbe". Dresden is a city of amazing beauty, a pearl of baroque, a center of art of European scale, almost destroyed during the Second World War and carefully restored again.

The city of Dresden is located on both banks of the Elbe River at the foot of the Ore Mountains. The highest peak of the surrounding area has a height of 384 meters. Nature is a hilly plain, covered with forests and agricultural land. Interestingly, Dresden itself is a very green city. Parks and other green spaces occupy 60% of its area. The climate is temperate with some marine influence. Summer is warm, winter is cool but mild with an average temperature of about zero. Over 600 mm of precipitation falls annually.

Practical information

  1. The population of the city is more than half a million people.
  2. Area - 328 km 2. By area, Dresden is one of the largest cities in Germany, second only to Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.
  3. The official language is German.
  4. Currency is Euro.
  5. The visa is Schengen.
  6. Time is Central European UTC +1, in winter +2.
  7. Dresden's main shopping street is Prager Straße, which starts from the main train station, extends to Wiener Straße and ends on the old market square. Many shops, cafes and restaurants are located in the historical core of the city. In general, the old city of Dresden offers simply vast opportunities for shopping and entertainment. There are several large shopping centers in the area. Among them, it is worth highlighting Altmarkt-Galerie at Webergasse, 1, Karstadt and Centrum-Galerie.
  8. Dresden's Christmas market is one of the most beautiful in Germany. It starts from the end of November and lasts almost until Christmas.

History

The foundation and development of Dresden is associated with the resettlement of Germanic tribes to the east. At the end of the 12th century, a Slavic settlement existed on the southern bank of the Elbe. The first mention of the city dates back to 1206. Already in 1270, Dresden became the capital of Meissen. He performed this function until 1422 until the unification of Margrave and Saxony.


In the 15-16 centuries, Dresden played an important role in the region. But nevertheless, the city experienced the greatest prosperity in the 17th century during the Kurfurst of Saxony, King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Augustus the Strong. Under him, the city not only turned into one of the cultural centers of Europe, but also acquired a wonderful Baroque appearance.


In the 18th century, Saxony waged a constant struggle with other principalities and Prussia itself. During the Seven Years War, Dresden was occupied by the troops of King Prussia Frederick II. Prussian troops did more damage to the city. In 1813, a major battle took place in the vicinity of the city between the troops of Napoleon and the combined army of Bohemia. After the Napoleonic Wars, the significance of Dresden sharply decreased, although its cultural role in Europe was still high.


In February 1945, the historic center of Dresden was almost completely destroyed during the bombing of American and British aircraft. The restoration of Dresden took more than 40 years. And even now, here you can find the scars left by the Second World War. After the war, Dresden becomes one of the main cities of the GDR. Currently, it is one of the most important cultural, tourist, industrial and educational centers of East Germany.

How to get there

Dresden is located near the border of Germany and the Czech Republic, 100 km from Leipzig, 200 km - Berlin, 150 km - Prague. The city is easily accessible by air, train, bus and car.

Dresden has its own airport, which is located north of the center. You can get to the city from the airport by bus 77 or 97, tram 7 or catch the S2 S-Bahn line. Although it is worth canceling that Leipzig Airport offers a greater number of international departures.


Dresden is a major railway junction. The city has two railway stations at once: Neustadt on the north bank of the Elbe and Hauptbahnhof (main station) - on the south. There are regular connections with Leipzig, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Prague, Budapest, Wroclaw and other major cities.

Dresden has good connections with other German cities via the autobahn system. The motorway also connects the city with the Czech capital, Prague.

There are a lot of bus routes in Dresden. From Berlin by bus you can get for 7 euros.

To move around the city, you can use public transport: trams and buses. In general, the historical center is quite compact, so the city is convenient to explore on foot.

sights

Dresden is a surprisingly beautiful and balanced city that offers tourists wonderful architecture and attractions, numerous museums and art treasures, beautiful city and natural landscapes, walks along the Elbe and numerous parks.


The old town of Dresden is located on the left bank of the Elbe. It is distinguished by the beautiful architecture of the 17-19th century in the Baroque and Renaissance styles. Despite the destruction of World War II, the historic city center was carefully restored and retained its attractiveness.

The main attractions of Dresden

You should not miss these sights and be sure to see them.


Frauenkirche is one of the symbols of Dresden, a beautiful Protestant Baroque church built in the 18th century. This attraction was almost completely destroyed in February 1945 and restored only in the 90s of the 20th century. The church is located on one of the main squares of the city - Neumarkt (New Market). The area arose in the middle of the 16th century. During the Renaissance, it acquired features typical of this period. After the destruction of the Seven Years War, Neumarkt was rebuilt in the Baroque style. Now the square has almost restored its historical appearance.


The opera house is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Dresden Opera is one of the most famous theaters in Germany. It was built in the first half of the 18th century. Restored after the war in 1985.


Zwinger - a masterpiece of German late Baroque, built in the early 18th century. Initially, this building was conceived as a conservatory and venue for special events. Currently, it is one of the most famous exhibition halls in Germany. Here is an art gallery, a collection of porcelain, a museum of mathematics and physics.


The Royal Palace is one of the most beautiful buildings in Dresden, built in the 15th century as the residence of Saxon princes and kings. The first historical building was damaged during a fire in 1701 and reconstructed under Augustus the Strong. The palace contained more than 500 halls. After restoration, a museum is located here.

Next to the palace is a 101-meter painting "Procession of Princes", lined with porcelain and depicting the princes of Saxony. Over 24,000 porcelain tiles were used to decorate the image.


The cathedral is the largest religious building in Saxony and one of the latest baroque buildings in the historic center of Dresden. This Protestant church was built in the mid-18th century. Niches and balustrades are decorated with 78 stone figures. 49 Saxon princes are buried in the crypt.

The Old Market or Altmarkt is the heart of the historic center of Dresden almost from the moment the city was founded. This is a large rectangular square on which all the main city events were held for a long time: fairs, tournaments, holidays.

Kreuzkirche is one of the oldest churches in Dresden, a history that spans 7 centuries. If you climb the tower, you can enjoy stunning views of the Elbe Valley and the old city.


  Terrace Bruehl

The Bruhl Terrace is the historic promenade of the Elbe with the oldest Renaissance structures, under which are fragments of the Dresden Fortress. Here you can look at the old brick city gates, see relics of medieval defense fortifications and the old bridge. Also here is one of the largest and most interesting museums in Dresden - Albertinum.

Neustadt and its attractions

Neustadt is a historic district on the right bank of the Elbe. The district developed as a separate settlement regardless of the left-bank historical center. After a severe fire in 1685, the area was rebuilt in the Baroque style and incorporated into the city.


The Golden Horseman is a sculpture of the 18th century, which depicts Augustus the Strong, in which Dresden turned into one of the most important cities in Europe.

In the center of Neustadt is an old 18th-century Jewish cemetery.


The Church of the Epiphany is one of the main religious buildings of Neustadt. It was built in the 30s of the 18th century. A 100-meter non-barreled tower was added after 100 years.

Neustadt is the embodiment of Augustus the Strong's dream of an ideal royal city. There are many beautiful Baroque buildings and palaces. This is a place with a large concentration of craft shops and cozy cafes. If you are looking for something unusual, then most likely it can be found only here.

September 28th. I slept and got up at 7 in the morning. The alarm clock on the phone did not start, but turned it off so that it would not be discharged in the cold air. I went to the toilet, quickly packed up. Richard and Fiona were also about to have breakfast - they are thorough tourists, not like me, I ride on the forage and nuts. Richard will show me a book, a guide to the EuroVelo 7 cycling road (from Norway to southern Italy). According to this book, it turned out that to Dresden from the place of our deployment another 90 km. And I thought of everything from Prague a little over a hundred. Therefore, we will have to go off the cycle track today and cut off along other routes.

On the other side of the Usti nad Labem

I rolled to Uste nad labem. Studied the way to the border to ride through Petrovice   and Helendorf. Now you need to cross the river and drive through the city. In the city I found a supermarket. At 8 in the morning it was already open, and I bought kefir, sausage and horns. While packing all this in a backpack in the parking lot, another cyclist came up and managed to cram his whole basket with a bunch of food into bags on his bicycle and in a backpack. I asked him how I could drive shorter to the border. At first he started his Czech: i don’t speak English, sorry, mister. But to the question: The road to Petroviche to Dresden? reacted and the herds are more sociable and showed on my navigator how to ride better. You need to go through Klumets, but in front of Naklerov there will be a steep climb. Just scared. Thank you very much for the tip.


  Czech League Hockey Club 2 - Slovan (Usti nad Labem)

Leaving the city, I see a poster of local hockey. The team of Usti nad Labem - Slovan plays in the second league and today they play with the Knights of Kladno. Opponents from Kladno - this team belongs to Jaromir Jagr and his father. In how. But today we have no time, tomorrow we fly from Dresden. Therefore, we are waiting for the GDR.

Normally reached Klumtsa (Chlumec), drove the roundabout. Stella with lions appeared in honor of the victory over Napoleon. As I understand from the inscriptions on the monuments, here the Austrians defeated Napoleon well. But besides the Austrians, Russian troops fought here. Therefore, there is an Austrian stella in German and Russian, respectively, in Russian. These are amazing places here.


And now an amazing climb to the pass will begin. How do you move the railway to Telnitsa, then the track immediately abruptly leads uphill. Six kilometers of very steep climb. Put the stars in the lowest gears, turn off the brain, slowly repeat to ourselves "We are living in yellow submarine" and so for every turn of the wheel. We are not in a hurry, we are not tearing the veins. Just spin it slowly. Halfway back I made a stop, noticed a steep forest where you could organize a wild night yesterday. Marked a place on the map - suddenly it will still enter these places. And here is a view from the hill.


A little more and I'm on the pass. Here is the Wandam Cafe. This is the name of the French commander who defeated ours in the battle in these places. And then people in the field launch kites. There is essentially no settlement Naklerov itself. There are only 5-6 yards. And a very piercing wind.


Now I roll from the mountain. Also cool as uphill, only ten kilometers and already to the very border. I fly over to Petrovich without stopping. There are many shops and markets here to sell low-cost Czech goods to visiting German residents. But all the goods here are, of course, Chinese, and the sellers are more Vietnamese. The local producer is represented by bags of potatoes. I am completely frozen and I want to drink coffee. But there is no desire and opportunity to call money for money and in a cafe. For the last kilometer to the border there is a gas station. There is also a coffee machine. I pour it a trifle and drink 12 cups of hot coffee for 12 crowns. Hurrah. I warmed myself and you can say goodbye to the Czech Republic.


I drive into the GDR and immediately notice that there are more cars. It took me half an hour to drive along the curb to get used to a more active stream of cars. You need to return to the bike path to become more comfortable. And this means you need to turn towards the Elbe to the city of Pirna. The road is always downhill, with the exception of a small lift. But then down again.


I drove into Pirna and decided to cross the river in order to find a path on the opposite bank. But just in case, he stopped a local cyclist. He volunteered to show the road and did not take me to the bridge, and led him cunningly to the bike path. The one on Dresden. I thanked him and drove along the Elbe. That's how I cut 25-30 kilometers, and roll across Germany. The inscriptions are all incomprehensible, but you can spend the euro, but I have them. At one o'clock in the afternoon I made a halt and dined with buns and gingerbread, which I bought in the Czech Republic in the morning.


In one place there was a detour. Here you can immediately see from such situations that a bicycle is treated as a means of transportation. Firstly, in connection with the roundabout, all the signs and signs of the bike path were outweighed. So I went and knew where to turn and not get lost on the way. All pointers. On this detour, I counted at least 20 signs that had to be replaced with a straight arrow by an arrow with a turn. Secondly, when I returned to the bike path along the river and turned back, I realized why they had made a detour. It’s just that in this section a team of workers in a truck and two cranes cut old and long branches above the bike path. So that they do not fall and do not hurt anyone. For the safety of riding a bicycle. Not by car.


Before Dresden   eight kilometers. In fact, I'm already in town. I drove a TV tower on the mountain. More and more cyclists. And on a parallel track jogging. I checked with the navigators and drove to the bridge in the right place to continue on the opposite bank of the Elbe. There are gorgeous views on both sides of the river. He stopped and asked a student sitting with a book to take me to a Nokia Lumia phone. Here's what happened.


There are no less cyclists in the city. At the intersections, there are separate traffic lights and ruled lines of bike lanes throughout the city. I quickly found the Kangaroo hostel where I plan to stay for one night. At the reception they give me bedding, a key and a map of the area and evaluate my joke about the country Deutsche Demokratische Republik. - Same shit but another name of country.

Last 79 km of travel

Using the computer at the reception, I unloaded all my tracks on Strava, laundered and went for a drive around the city. Already tables for Octoberfest are set. You can come and pour yourself beer with sausages. I drove into the gallery of Dresden, but today is Monday - all museums are closed. It will be necessary to have time tomorrow morning before departure to look at the Sistine Madonna of Raphael.

There are very beautiful trams here on an established public transport network.


But this is a bicycle parking near the station. I counted 150 bicycles, and another half of such parking is on the other side of the square. Total more than 200 bicycles. Can you imagine how much space this parking will take for cars? This is all the answer to the stink of motorists who are not ready to pay for parking in the city. And at the same time, they demand that the authorities build more free parking lots. But this is simply not possible. Earth is not infinite. Especially in the city center.


I went to two tourist equipment stores - I looked at what tents are on sale. But I did not find anything light and compact for myself. I went for a walk along a street filled with cafes and did not find sausage ones, but ate a funky shawarma (donner in local custom). Kurdish guys make a freaky shawarma with so much meat that we need to buy three of them or open our own shawarma. With a full belly of local beer and meat, I went to bed. The hostel chatted with a dude from Italy, Giorgio, who had come to study in Dresden. He came with a guitar to learn German. Semester of study - 6 months costs 250 euros. The remaining costs of housing and havchik. And the rest is a freebie. All documents sent by e-mail and received by e-mail.

In the morning I woke up out of habit early. But the hostel was closed and I stuck in the kitchen - chasing teas. Chatted with a dude from Munich - he came to Dresden to practice massage and chiropractic. And then Giorgio woke up. And his eyes are as sad as all Italian's. Like Eros Ramazotti. But I cleared that he was stupidly hungry. He took out his sausage bread and waffles and invited him to eat. All that was left to him was incomplete, because I was already leaving for lunch. He offered him the rest of the nut stock, but he said that he was allergic. He eats a nut and there will be an attack. After breakfast, I rummaged in the bin and was rewarded with three plastic bottles. I need them to pack a great plane.

And then I managed to walk to the Gallery in Dresden. I looked at the painting of European masters. What is the coolest, most of the paintings I have already seen. I had them on German DDR brands. In childhood, when I was collecting stamps, I decided that I would collect paintings and flowers. No one advised me that. But I decided so. I myself am now wondering where I then had a craving for beauty.


I did not become wise with a trip to the airport, but reached by train. Another 30-40 minutes carefully packed great. I wrapped the whole frame with newspapers and scotch tape. He closed the big star by cutting along a plastic bottle. And he put the “cock” and the rear derailleur into another plastic bottle. There were no representatives at the registration Aeroflot. Registration is carried out by the airport itself. I was asked if my bike was paid - I answered so that I looked at the reservation, there should be a corresponding remark. Everything was found, I carried it large through the window of oversized cargo. Upon arrival, I waited a long time for when he was brought to Sheremetyevo. Great flew without the slightest scratch. I love Sukhoi SuperJet 100.

A peasant with a bicycle helmet flew on the plane, who lives in Moscow and Dresden and said that there are huge kilometers of bike paths in Dresden, taking into account the suburbs. And to drive from the morning to Prague and back is quite normal entertainment. You need to try it too somehow.
  That's all.

Conclusion: if you plan to ride in Europe, then for the first time select any of the main EuroVelo cycle tracks and follow the signs. Europe is not so expensive if you travel by bike. And I plan to continue the study of European countries next summer.

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden

GDR - the echo of socialism

Dresden - a man on horseback

Everything is ready to celebrate Oktoberfest

Dresden

Bridge over the Elbe to the old town

Bicycle path on the bridge over the Elbe

The Internet is full of photos and posts from Dresden. This is not surprising, because Dresden is one of the most visited German cities by tourists. But few tourists go beyond the limits of the tourist reservation - the old city and the Neustadt pub district, so all these photos and reports look banal and repetitive. Today I’ll try to show the wrong Dresden that you are used to seeing. Today's post is dedicated to the Dresden architectural heritage of the GDR - panels and high-rises, of which there are countless in this beautiful city. And what is most surprising - they not only do not violate the urban picture, but rather decorate it. But let's see everything with our own eyes ...

01. The first three photographs were taken from the observation platform located at the upper station of the Dresden cableway. From this observation platform you can see the whole of Dresden in full view. And its territory is very vast, because in its occupied area Dresden is the fourth city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.

02. On the outskirts of Dresden during the time of the GDR, huge housing estates of high-rise buildings were built. Far in the photo one of the largest such areas - Prolis. The area is very specific, built according to Soviet patterns and is currently populated mainly by the unemployed and poorly educated. With the cheapness and wide choice of housing that reigns in Dresden, only a person who is consciously close to that social environment can rent an apartment in Prolis. If you want to bring an original and non-pop photo report from Dresden - go to Prolis, the last 1, 9 and 13 trams. Just do it in the daytime and I recommend imperceptibly photographing people, there they are mmm .... a little irritating.

03. Not only the outskirts of the city, but also its entire center are built up in block massifs, which this photo clearly demonstrates. Concrete blocks of high-rise buildings and cathedral spiers form a single urban landscape here and it is surprisingly harmonious.

04. Let's move to the center of the city and consider it closer from a height. The tourist reserve, that is, the territory of the old city, is outlined by the bell towers of the cathedrals and the tower of the city hall (the rightmost one). There is an observation deck at the top of the town hall tower, but in recent years the town hall was under reconstruction and there was no access to the top. I'm going to visit Dresden this spring. It will be necessary to check whether the observation deck has been opened, the views from it should be amazing.

05. And this is the territory next to mine. Photographed, by the way, from the top floor of the central institute building. Here is the GDR zone. Three high-rises in the distance - university dormitories, from the balcony of one of them the previous shot was taken.

06. In the foreground is another university dormitory, one of the few that has not been sanitized. Projects on its reorganization are already under consideration and now work should begin. Actually, there are two twin buildings, but the view came out so that one twin hid behind the second.

07. Another view from the top floor of the institute building. This day I was very lucky with the weather.

08. A close look will notice the golden dome in the photograph. And our tour, meanwhile, is teleported to the balcony of the upper floor of the right high-rise.

09. From this photo you can’t immediately understand that it was made in Germany. The Russian Orthodox Church organically fits into the surrounding landscape only emphasizing the flavor of this area.

10. The Orthodox church was erected in the years 1872-1874 in the Russian-Byzantine architectural style, more details about it can be found on Wikipedia.

11. This is a student district located between the two largest educational institutions of the city - the Technical University and the Institute of Technology and Economics. On the right in the photo there is a sanitized student dormitory, on the left is an ordinary residential building behind which the buildings of the institute and the student canteen with a red triangular roof are visible.

12. A beautiful church, I would like to add a couple of photos of the interiors, but when the camera is seen, the temple workers become umm ... irritable, like the inhabitants of Prolis.

13. Another complex of skyscrapers is also student dormitories. All of them were twins, built on the same project, but during the reorganization they approached them creatively and now they have become an ornament of the district.

14. But they are from a different angle. Beauty!

15. These twins are also student dormitories located in the very center of the city. In one of them I lived happy four years.

16. But let us return to the upper floor of the institute building and look out the window at the back of the building. What do we see?

17. Probably it would look like a utopian socialist city, if all the same managed to build communism :)

18. Beauty!

19. A suburban train, having just left the main station building and heading towards the Saxon Switzerland national park, was shot.

20. And these twin skyscrapers are ordinary residential buildings. Not only are they tall on their own, they also stand on a hill. The views from there should be spectacular. Well, let's check ... and the teleport takes us to the upper balcony of the right of them.

21. The view from the balcony offers a truly stunning view.

22. How beautiful this city is surrounded by greenery!

23. The expression "drowning in green" here takes on a completely literal meaning. The Green Sea completely absorbed the city streets, the overpass of the railway, houses and squares of the city. The skyscrapers and roofs of high-rise buildings resemble islands in this huge, green ocean stretching to the horizon.

24.

25. A look from the back to three high-rises - student dormitories with the eighth photograph. From the balcony of the middle one, I shot a district with a Russian Orthodox church, which is shown in the photographs above. Two identical buildings at the bottom of the photo - the building of the SLUB Land Library, familiar to every student in Dresden. In the midst of the session, this library becomes the second home for thousands of students.

26. What I love Dresden for is its diversity. Here, many historical eras are miraculously connected, and so harmoniously that each of these eras does not lose its atmosphere and identity. As a result, a walk through the districts of the city turns into a time travel through the rich history of this great city.

27. In the next post, I will continue to explore the city from a height and show the high-rise Dresden more diversified.

The Internet is full of photos and posts from Dresden. This is not surprising, because Dresden is one of the most visited German cities by tourists. But few tourists go beyond the limits of the tourist reservation - the old city and the Neustadt pub district, so all these photos and reports look banal and repetitive. Today I’ll try to show the wrong Dresden that you are used to seeing. Today's post is dedicated to the Dresden architectural heritage of the GDR - panels and high-rises, of which there are countless in this beautiful city. And what is most surprising - they not only do not violate the urban picture, but rather decorate it. But let's see everything with our own eyes ...

01. The first three photographs were taken from the observation platform located at the top station of Dresden. From this observation platform you can see the whole of Dresden in full view. And its territory is very vast, because in its occupied area Dresden is the fourth city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.

02. On the outskirts of Dresden during the time of the GDR, huge housing estates of high-rise buildings were built. Far in the photo one of the largest such areas - Prolis. The area is very specific, built according to Soviet patterns and is currently populated mainly by the unemployed and poorly educated. With the cheapness and wide choice of housing that reigns in Dresden, only a person who is consciously close to that social environment can rent an apartment in Prolis. If you want to bring an original and non-pop photo report from Dresden - go to Prolis, the last 1, 9 and 13 trams. Just do it in the daytime and I recommend imperceptibly photographing people, there they are mmm .... a little irritating.

03. Not only the outskirts of the city, but also its entire center are built up in block massifs, which this photo clearly demonstrates. Concrete blocks of high-rise buildings and cathedral spiers form a single urban landscape here and it is surprisingly harmonious.

04. Let's move to the center of the city and consider it closer from a height. The tourist reserve, that is, the territory of the old city, is outlined by the bell towers of the cathedrals and the tower of the city hall (the rightmost one). There is an observation deck at the top of the town hall tower, but in recent years the town hall was under reconstruction and there was no access to the top. I'm going to visit Dresden this spring. It will be necessary to check whether the observation deck has been opened, the views from it should be amazing.

05. And this is the territory next to mine. Photographed, by the way, from the top floor of the central institute building. Here is the GDR zone. Three high-rises in the distance - university dormitories, from the balcony of one of them the previous shot was taken.

06. In the foreground is another university dormitory, one of the few that has not been sanitized. Projects on its reorganization are already under consideration and now work should begin. Actually, there are two twin buildings, but the view came out so that one twin hid behind the second.

07. Another view from the top floor of the institute building. This day I was very lucky with the weather.

08. A close look will notice the golden dome in the photograph. And our tour, meanwhile, is teleported to the balcony of the upper floor of the right high-rise.

09. From this photo you can’t immediately understand that it was made in Germany. The Russian Orthodox Church organically fits into the surrounding landscape only emphasizing the flavor of this area.

10. The Orthodox church was erected in the years 1872-1874 in the Russian-Byzantine architectural style, more details about it can be found on Wikipedia.

11. This is a student district located between the two largest educational institutions of the city - the Technical University and the Institute of Technology and Economics. On the right in the photo there is a sanitized student dormitory, on the left is an ordinary residential building behind which the buildings of the institute and the student canteen with a red triangular roof are visible.

12. A beautiful church, I would like to add a couple of photos of the interiors, but when the camera is seen, the temple workers become umm ... irritable, like the inhabitants of Prolis.

13. Another complex of skyscrapers is also student dormitories. All of them were twins, built on the same project, but during the reorganization they approached them creatively and now they have become an ornament of the district.

14. But they are from a different angle. Beauty!

15. These twins are also student dormitories located in the very center of the city. In one of them I lived happy four years.

16. But let us return to the upper floor of the institute building and look out the window at the back of the building. What do we see?

17. Probably it would look like a utopian socialist city, if all the same managed to build communism :)

18. Beauty!

19. A suburban train, having just left the main station building and heading towards the Saxon Switzerland national park, was shot.

20. And these twin skyscrapers are ordinary residential buildings. Not only are they tall on their own, they also stand on a hill. The views from there should be spectacular. Well, let's check ... and the teleport takes us to the upper balcony of the right of them.

21. The view from the balcony offers a truly stunning view.

22. How beautiful this city is surrounded by greenery!

23. The expression "drowning in green" here takes on a completely literal meaning. The Green Sea completely absorbed the city streets, the overpass of the railway, houses and squares of the city. The skyscrapers and roofs of high-rise buildings resemble islands in this huge, green ocean stretching to the horizon.

24.

25. A look from the back to three high-rises - student dormitories with the eighth photograph. From the balcony of the middle one, I shot a district with a Russian Orthodox church, which is shown in the photographs above. Two identical buildings at the bottom of the photo - the building of the SLUB Land Library, familiar to every student in Dresden. In the midst of the session, this library becomes the second home for thousands of students.

26. What I love Dresden for is its diversity. Here, many historical eras are miraculously connected, and so harmoniously that each of these eras does not lose its atmosphere and identity. As a result, a walk through the districts of the city turns into a time travel through the rich history of this great city.

27. In the next post, I will continue to explore the city from a height and show the high-rise Dresden more diversified.

As everyone knows, in February 1945, Anglo-American aviation bombed the city of Dresden, a major cultural center, the former capital of the Elector of Saxony, "Florence on the Elbe". As a result, the historic center, Old Town,. In the 1950s the ruins were demolished, with the exception of the skeletons of several historic buildings. They will stand in a preserved form throughout the entire era of the GDR.
As a monument to the war, it was decided to leave also the ruins of the most beautiful church in the city - Frauenkirche.
Such they were in 1957:

Only at the very end of the 20th century the man-made miracle of the reconstruction of the historical center of Dresden will begin, the largest restoration project in Europe since the revival of Warsaw and Gdansk.


A real miracle of architecture, similar to a huge stone bell, the Frauenkirche church was built in the Baroque style at the direction of the Saxon elector and King of Poland Augustus the Strong in 1726-1743.
So she looked at the end of the 19th century:


Entire generations of Dresden remembered her completely different.
Frauenkirche in 1967:

This was the view of the center of Dresden in 1957:


On the left we see the ruins Dresden Castle Residence.
Another view from 1957:

Gradually, the place of the former Old Town was filled with new buildings. The former New Market Square (Neumarkt) around the ruins of the Frauenkirche remained undeveloped. View in 1960:

One of the surviving churches near the castle (forgot its name), 1960:

Panorama of the historic center of Dresdan in 1960:

The state of Dresden Castle was not much different from the state of the Royal Castle of Königsberg in the first post-war years. But Dresdensky was mothballed in time and was not allowed to be pulled into a brick, moreover, they did not begin to blow up the remains.
Castle-residence and Tashenberg palace in 1967:

View of the castle in 1969:

The construction of a modern palace of culture in the heart of the Old Town of Dresden, 1967:

Palace-residence in 1980:

Panorama of the historic center of Dresden in 1980:


Frauenkirche ruins in 1980:

1982:

Not that the GDR authorities opposed the restoration of historical sights, they restored some of the pearls of Dresden very well: the palace ensemble Zwinger and the Opera, for example. However, further work on the revival of the Old City was clearly not part of their immediate plans.
Everything changed in 1989. Dresden decided that they want to return to the Saxon capital its former beauty and grandeur at all costs. The fact that they had to rebuild the long-existing Old City did not bother them. And the fact that the rebuilt will be a continuous fake and remake. They were not embarrassed by the poor economic situation of East Germany after the reunion, which could have been spent on solving social problems. It was unlikely that they then thought that the invested costs would then be paid back by a million flows of tourists. No, they just wanted to return their city in all its glory and be proud of it. For them it was the same important spiritual task as for the Poles the restoration of medieval Warsaw after the war.

At least such a fact speaks of the enormous work ahead, the restoration of the castle began in the early 90s, and it should end in 2013, that is, it took more than 20 years to build an object in the Old Town alone!
Outside 1990:


Slow restoration was explained not only by financial difficulties, but by the technology itself, which was aimed at restoring a genuine historical monument with maximum authenticity, rather than creating its reinforced concrete model.
It must be said here that after the war, the ruins of palaces, churches, historical buildings of Dresden were carefully dismantled, all fragments were described and taken out of the city. For almost half a century, they were waiting in the wings before it came "time to collect stones" and then each surviving brick fell into place.
The symbol of the entire recovery campaign was the reconstruction of the Frauenkirha, without which the classical silhouette of the city was simply inconceivable. Money was collected for her popularly:

In 1990, the analysis of the mound from the debris of the temple and archaeological work began.
1991 year:

April 1993:

In 1996, they began to actually recreate. All the stones from the previous building, which they could find and identify, put in their original place. It is easy to notice them in the walls of the restored temple, as old stones have a darker tone:

Given the use of two large fragments of old walls, the restored monument does not dare to be called a remake or dummy.
The restoration of the church was completed in 2005. Immediately after that, the reconstruction of entire neighborhoods of the surrounding historical buildings began, and for this the GDR buildings on the way were demolished.
However, if the restoration of the Castle Residence and Frauenkirche was a meticulous work with maximum historical authenticity, then the background development was initially planned as a remake styled in antiquity, not trying to create the illusion of antiquity and authenticity. Although almost all houses are designed from old photographs and paintings, they nevertheless deliberately have interspersed with cutting-edge architecture, including the notorious deacon. As a result, the reconstructed building creates the necessary background for an authentic historical monument, creates a cozy atmosphere of the old city, but is not misleading, reminding at every step that this is not genuine antiquity, but only an emulation of irretrievably lost.
On the basis of this complex concept, the miraculous resurrection of the Old Town in Dresden took place.
This was Neumarkt Square after the reconstruction of the historical ensemble: