Dresden · DE
Dresden Highlights: Baroque Old Town & the Elbe
Florence on the Elbe — a loop through the reborn baroque Altstadt.
What's the walk about?
Welcome to Dresden, the city they call 'Florence on the Elbe'. On this walk you'll loop through the heart of the baroque Altstadt, a golden ensemble of palaces, church domes and sandstone facades rising above the river. It is a scene that was reduced to ash in a single night in February 1945 and then, stone by patient stone, brought back to life. Starting at the Kreuzkirche on the Altmarkt, we'll wind past the ornate Zwinger, the grand Semperoper and the towering Hofkirche, cross the shadow of the royal castle and its Green Vault, admire the world's largest porcelain mural, and step out onto Brühl's Terrace for the classic view across the Elbe — before closing the circle at the resurrected Frauenkirche, the very symbol of Dresden's rebirth.
What you'll see
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1
Kreuzkirche
Church
Rising over the Altmarkt with its ninety two meter tower, the Kreuzkirche is the largest church in Saxony and the ancient home of the world famous Dresdner Kreuzchor boys' choir. Its deliberately rough, unfinished interior stands as a quiet monument to the city's destruction and rebirth.
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2
Zwinger
palace
A dazzling baroque pleasure palace wrapped around a vast garden courtyard, its golden crown gate, fountains and porcelain carillon making it the jewel of Dresden. Behind the ornate facades sit some of Germany's greatest art collections.
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3
Semperoper
Opera House
The grand opera house on Theaterplatz whose Neo-Renaissance facade has twice risen from ruin. Behind its curved stone front, Wagner and Strauss unleashed operas that changed music forever.
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4
Katholische Hofkirche (Kathedrale)
cathedral
Saxony's largest church, a soaring baroque court cathedral whose balustrade is crowned by 78 sandstone saints. Beneath it lies the royal Wettin crypt, where the heart of Augustus the Strong rests in a silver urn.
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5
Residenzschloss (Dresden Castle)
castle
The sprawling royal palace of the Saxon rulers, home to the dazzling treasure chambers of the Green Vault. Its Renaissance courtyards and soaring watchtower crown the heart of the old town.
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6
Fürstenzug (Procession of Princes)
monument
A 102 metre cavalcade of Saxon rulers rides silently across the wall of the old stables, rendered entirely in gleaming Meissen porcelain. It is the largest porcelain artwork on earth, and it survived the firestorm that flattened everything around it.
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7
Elbe Riverfront (Augustusbrücke)
viewpoint
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.
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8
Brühl's Terrace
Viewpoint
Stretching for half a kilometre high above the river Elbe, this elevated promenade is famous across the continent as the 'Balcony of Europe.' From its parapet you look out over the water, the bridges and the wide Baroque sky that made Dresden a place of pilgrimage for poets and painters.
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9
Frauenkirche
church
A soaring baroque church crowned by a great stone dome, rebuilt from a mountain of rubble to become Dresden's most moving symbol of rebirth and reconciliation.
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