Modern Dresden

Even though most of Dresden was blown to hell during the firebombing, much of it has been rebuilt, so there is plenty to see. Within the city center alone there are:

• Churches
• Zwinger palace and Albertinum
• Semperoper (opera house)
• Castle
• Verkehrsmuseum (transportation museum)

And nearby you can see:

• World Trade Center
• Bühlau Cultural Center
• Pillnitz Palace
• Karl May Museum
• Puppentheatersammlung (Puppet Theater Collection)
• Moritzburg Palace
• Baroque Museum
• Albrechtsburg castle
• Purzellan Manufaktur (porcelain factory)
• Meissen Cathedral
• Sächsische Schwiez National Park

Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) and Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross)

The Frauenkirche (church of Our Lady) is Dresden's oldest, having begun as a mission for the native Sorbs in the mid 11^th century--about the time of the Norman conquest of England. This building was too small for Dresden's growing population, and the new church was completed in 1743.

The Kreuzkirche (church of the Holy Cross) is another church from medieval times, founded in 1215 and reconsecrated in 1388. At the time it was Roman Catholic church and received a portion of the True Cross, making it an attractive place for pilgrimages. During the restoration it became the first church in Dresden to hold Lutheran services. As it is located in the city center, the Kreuzkirche is the spiritual center of Dresden.

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Zwinger Palace and Albertinum

Zwinger palace was was built in the early 18th century for Augustus the Strong. Versailles, the palace of French king Louis XIV, was its model. Originally the residence for the ruling Wettin family, Zwinger now houses several great musea:

• Old Masters' Art Gallery
• Rüstkammer weapons collection
• Salon of Mathematics and Physics
• Meissen porcelain collection

Nearby is the Albertinum. Originally an armory, the Albertinum houses the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault): the treasures of the Saxon princes. The collection is large that only half of it is on display at any time. The Albertinum is also home to the Galerie Neuer Meister, a Sculpture Gallery and a Coin Gallery.

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Semperoper opera house

This baroque opera house stands next to the Zwinger in the Theaterplatz, rebuilt in the 1870s on the site where the previous theater had burned. This is where Richard Wagner's opera Reinze, The Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser premiered while he was director of music; Richard Strauss premiered both Salome and Elektra there as well. Like most of Dresden, it was destroyed during the firestorm but was rebuilt and reopened in 1985.

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Castle

According to a Dresden native, "I will forever remember the burned clock on the castle tower, its hands frozen at the moment in time when the bombs hit."

Today the castle is being rebuilt and is scheduled to reopen in 2006--Dresden's octocentennial.

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Verkehrsmuseum transportation museum

Devoted to all forms of locomotion, the transporation museum has an eclectic collection of trollies, boats, aircraft, automobiles and trains. It was created 1952 as one of the first cultural facilities of the German Democratic Republic after the Second World War.

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