Sobre este lugar
The Zwinger is Dresden's baroque crown jewel: a vast palatial ensemble completed in 1728 for Augustus the Strong and designed by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, its curved gallery wings enclosing a courtyard of nymph fountains, triumphal garlands, and ornate pavilions. The Semperbau wing, built by Gottfried Semper and completed in 1855, houses the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, where Raphael's Sistine Madonna, painted in 1512 and acquired by the Saxon court for 25,000 scudi in 1754, stands behind protective glass as one of the most visited paintings in the world. On 23 August 2022, two activists from the German climate group Letzte Generation glued their hands to its gilded frame, triggering an international debate about the legitimacy of art protest; the painting itself was undamaged, but restoration costs for the frame's protective finish came to around 2,300 euros, each activist was fined 1,500 euros, and a civil claim by the Free State of Saxony was settled for 5,550 euros. In January 2026, the state art collections were also struck by a cyberattack that briefly disrupted digital services, though the security systems inside the museums kept working.
Datos clave
- 2300 euros — The cost of repairing the frame's protective finish after activists pressed superglue against it in August 2022.
- 1512 year — The year Raphael completed the Sistine Madonna, now one of the most visited paintings in Europe.
- 25000 scudi — The price the Saxon elector Augustus III paid to acquire the Sistine Madonna from an Italian church in 1754.