About this place
The Zwinger was never a place to live. Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, built it between 1710 and 1728 purely for pleasure, as a grand stage for tournaments, firework displays and royal weddings. His architect Matthaeus Daniel Poeppelmann and the sculptor Balthasar Permoser conjured a fantasy of sandstone, filling every gable and gateway with nymphs, satyrs and swirling putti. Ranged around the courtyard are ornate pavilions and long arcaded galleries, from the soaring Wallpavillon crowned by the mythical Hercules to the delicate Nymphenbad fountain hidden in a leafy corner. Almost completely gutted by the firebombing of February 1945, the complex was patiently rebuilt to its original glory. Today its wings shelter the Old Masters Picture Gallery, the celebrated Porcelain Collection and the historic Mathematics and Physics Salon.
Key facts
- 1710 year — Augustus the Strong began his festival palace, completed eighteen years later in 1728
- 40 bells — Meissen porcelain bells chime in the courtyard's Glockenspiel pavilion carillon
- 2 cherubs — The dreamy winged cherubs of Raphael's Sistine Madonna live in the gallery here
📍 Theaterplatz 1, 01067, Dresden