Elbe Riverfront (Augustusbrücke)
From the sandstone parapets of the Augustus Bridge, the entire baroque skyline of Dresden unfurls across the water in a single sweeping panorama. This is the exact 'Canaletto view' that made the city famous across eighteenth century Europe.
About this place
The Augustusbrücke is the oldest of Dresden's Elbe crossings, and standing at its centre gives you the finest free vantage point in the whole city. Domes, spires and copper roofs line the southern bank in an unbroken procession, from the Semperoper and the Hofkirche to the crown of the rebuilt Frauenkirche. A stone bridge has stood on this spot since the thirteenth century, redesigned into a masterpiece of Dresden baroque under Augustus the Strong and rebuilt in reinforced concrete faced with sandstone in the early twentieth century. The riverbanks below, wide green meadows rather than concrete embankments, are part of what once made the Dresden Elbe Valley a listed cultural landscape, and they remain the heart of local life, where the city walks, cycles and gathers to watch the light change over the water.
Key facts
- 1275 year — First documented stone bridge here, making it Dresden's oldest Elbe crossing
- 9 arches — The present bridge, rebuilt between 1907 and 1910, spans the river in nine gentle arches
- 1748 year — Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, painted the skyline seen from this riverbank
📍 Terrassenufer, 01067, Dresden