Today was our day to have a look at Dresden, the famous city on the Elbe, and capital of Saxony. We knew something of the history, but had no idea of the beauty and interest of the place. There is a fascinating pattern of succcessful restoration, restoration in progress, places that were flattened and are gone, and places where the GDR put ugly plain buildings amidst the splendor.
We learned a lot, formed many impressions, and took 240 photos! Our next step is to wake up at 5 a.m. (in under 6 hours from now) and go catch a train south 600 km or so to Ulm. From there we will cycle to and through Switzerland.
So I will have some hours on the train to tell the story of Dresden. Watch for it... coming soon!
... sitting now on the platform at Darmstadt, waiting for the train to Ulm. Little idea of where Darmstadt is, actually. But, here is the accouny of Dresden. (captions coming soon).
We knew a little bit about the fire bombing of Dresden, in 1945, during the final months of the war. However, we did not know what a cultural treasure it had been, known as the Florence of the Elbe. We also did not know about the reconstruction efforts, and the extent to which these, particularly for the Frauenkirche had become a world cause celebre. So as usual, the Grampies just stumbled into it, but this time with four local guides - Jurgen and Birgit, and Stephan and Pia, to keep us from getting lost and to lead us from one amazing site to another.Our thanks go out to them, for taking time off work and dragging us 120 km to show this to us.
The first hint that this was a special place came at the outskirts of the city, where an industrial flour mill still had quite elegant construction. Then there was the former Yenidze cigarette factory, with elaborate Turkish design. These were not representative, though, just hints.
No matter whast iws scheduled for the day, one needs to start at the bakery.
It is the old city (altstadt) that immediately blows you away. We came first to the Dresden Palace, which was the royal residence from 1547 to 1918, for the rulers and royalty of Saxony. There have naturally been many renovations and additions, and different architectural styles have been used. The result is a bit jumbled, but maybe this adds to the charm and impact. The main feature that grabbed me was the number of towers and domes. In this it resembles Salzburg, which in turn is my image of a fairy, or mythical city - maybe something Lord of the Rings ish.
Nearby the Palace is the state opera building, the Semperoper. This was restored in 1985, so even before reunification, which indicates how imkportant it was. Behind the Semperoper is the huge Zwinger Palace complex, now the home of many museums, and dripping with elaborate carving of cherubs, noble mythic figures, and suchlike.
The restored state opera house, near the Dresden Palace.
Part of Dresden Castle. We immediately observe the elaborate decoration but also the blackening, maybe from fire but most likely from GDR polluting coal use.
The Frauenkirche is probably the most iconic, symbolic, and central building of Dresden. The church did not immediately fall in the bombing of February 13 (1945), but like the twin towers of 9/11 fell later from the effects of heat, after catching fire in the fire storm that swept the city. The thing stayed as a pile of rubble, with just a couple of stark walls standing, for 45 years.
After the fall of the Wall, an appeal went out, the "Call from Dresden" for help in reconstruction. 100 million euros were used, 2/3 from donations, to complete the work. It was a brilliant feat of fund raising, archeology, engineering, computer assisted design, art and craftwork. Each piece of rubble was tagged, and as many of these puzzle pieces as possible were put back in place. In the photos, only the black pieces are original.
The original, and the recreated interior of the huge stone dome is decorated with fresco. Of course, artists had to be found capable of doing this. Work was done from photos, and of course there were practice sketches and smaller versions, before going live on the dome. One of these practice versions is displayed in the museum under the church, and it is impressive as an artwork, on its own.
For years the rubble was left ot lie. The Russians considered it a symbol of British cruelty. Whether that was true or false, this is a new world - and one in which Coventry and Dresden are twinned cities.
From the top of the church you get a panorama of the city. The key feature, of course, is the River Elbe. Elbe means most to us as the subject of the Elbe Radweg, the bikeway from Prague through Hamburg to Cuxhaven at the river mouth. For us, it is the road not taken (though we crossed it), making it the more romantic.
The other key, looking down from above, is the mixed pattern of the old city. All around, and mixed with gorgeous baroque and renaissance structures, are plain white GDR boxes. That is, where there are not bare lots, where presumably old buildings used to stand. One of these lots is just by the Frauenkirche, and is the subject of an archeological dig. Perhaps this is the first stage orf a reconstruction. Another lot has a billboard denoting it a UNESCO world heritage site. For this place, UNESCO designation is a no brainer.
Jurgen ordered up one demo apple strudel for me, though for serious pastry research we would need to shift to a cafe. Meanwhile, Dodie was in the kitchen, watching a pig get roasted and checking out the kuchen!
One more erdbeere schnitte - not that we ate this one - can only eat every second
In the end, Jurgen put in a pop rivet, being reluctant to tap out the thin metal of the drop out, for a bigger screw. Whether this holds only time and cobble stoned roads will tell!
