GERMANY - It's Dresden Day

The BBC Weather forecast said that for Dresden today there is a 100% chance of rain. That's why today I have spent the day in the city rather than out in the country. It's also suddenly got a bit cold. But don't worry blog readers I have been wandering around prior to today taking pictures so not everything you see is going to be grey skies and a sea of brollies.

Dresden was once a beautiful city known as the "Florence of the Elbe" but all that changed on the night of 13/14 February 1945 when the city was devastated by two RAF bombing raids. Almost immediately afterwards, there was debate on the point and purpose of these raids, leading Churchill - ever the politician - to distance himself from them. What you see today is a mix of communist brutalist architecture coupled with a major and impressive reconstruction of the historic core. A lot of that historical reconstruction took place after German reunification and therefore currently has a "just too perfect" look to it because it hasn't yet really weathered.

With that in mind lets first go to the Dresden Panometer. Believe it or not this is another of those panoramic paintings - who knew there were so many of these things in Europe? This time it's a modern one created by digital photography and housed in an old gas holder. It depicts Dresden in 1945 just after the bombing. Being modern it has sound and light effects and is certainly thought provoking. 

Now lets look at Dresden today. The must see sight is the Frauenkirche. The Lutheran church that is the symbol of the city. The raids started a fire inside eventually causing the whole structure to collapse. Throughout the communist years it just lay as a heap of rubble, reconstruction started in the early 1990's and was completed in 2005.  It is a tall building with a small "footprint" - unlike a traditional cathedral - seating its congregation in tiered levels. Consequently it has difficulty absorbing the crowds. I had to queue to get in.

 

 

There is a viewing gallery right up at the top of the dome. This is well worth the entrance fee and because of the recent reconstruction you go up over half way by lift, but again it gets busy. Go early when it opens at 10am.

The next church along is more traditional in shape but still ornate. This is Holy Trinity Roman Catholic cathedral.

Here is the Fürstenzug which is a large mural made from Meissen porcelain tiles depicting the Saxon rulers from the House of Wettin.

Then of course there is the famous Semperpopera - Dresden's opera house

There is a whole range of museums and galleries here and I have not been able to even touch the surface - partly because of the bank holiday which means everything is crowded but also because I have wanted to visit things like the national parks around the city. And then there is Meissen and its porcelain just half an hour up the road. Dresden is definitely a city I will come back to as there is still so much more to do and it is a relaxing place to be in.

Lastly I'm going to leave you with a picture of the main railway station - why? Because it's reconstruction was carried out by Sir Norman Foster's team at Foster & Partners.