June 8, 2025 - Dresden - Berlin Trip - Day 5

Our day began with an early 3-hour scenic train ride to Dresden with Christine and Richard.  We passed through Saxony, observing expansive fields dotted with windmills under dramatic, dark skies.  We had our usual lively conversations about the news of the day.

 

Upon arriving in Dresden, we were greeted by Richard’s brother Dietrich. Having his doctorate in history and government studies and working for 25 years as a city (Dresden, Leipzig) and state (Saxony) planner and advisor, he was a wonderful city guide.

 

As we walked throughout Dresden, Dietrich provided us with hours of fascinating conversations about parallels today between US and the many growing far right political movements across all of Europe. 

Dresden, alongside the beautiful Elbe River flowing from Czechoslovakia, was largely flattened by English/American bombers toward the latter part of WWII, so the beautifully rebuilt (cathedrals, churches, government buildings, and city residences) make today’s views even more breathtaking. 

From the train station we walked into the center of Dresden across the Augustus Bridge and you can see the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in the background.  This is the church in which Christine's parents got married.

The Augustus Bridge serves as a crucial link between Dresden's Old Town and New Town (Neustadt).

The Bombing of Dresden during World War II stands as one of the most controversial Allied actions of the war as it did not serve any significant strategic importance.  In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city.  Much of the city center was destroyed and approximately 25,000 people were killed.  Read more about the bombing HERE.

The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden. It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Theaterplatz near the Elbe River in the historic centre of Dresden, Germany. The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841. After a devastating fire in 1869, the opera house was rebuilt, partly again by Semper, and completed in 1878.  

Then in 1945 it was reduced to rubble during World War II bombing raid that destroyed most of historic central Dresden. Only its exterior shell remained.  Under the Communist regime, and through the labor of many volunteer residents, it was lovingly rebuilt and restored to splendor.  This restoration was completed in 1985, forty years after the bombing.

The reopening performance featured Carl Maria von Weber's "Der Freischütz," the same opera staged before the building was destroyed in 1945, creating a powerful symbolic connection between the pre-war and post-war eras.

We passed by the Fürstenzug which is a large mural of a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony. It was originally painted between 1871 and 1876 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Wettin Dynasty, Saxony's ruling family. In order to make the work weatherproof, it was replaced with approximately 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles between 1904 and 1907. With a length of 102 metres, it is known as the largest porcelain artwork in the world.

Here are some close-ups.

 

The area had a couple human statue scenes, it is always amazing that they can stay so still for so long!!!

Dresden Castle or Royal Palace is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors and kings of Saxony from the Albertine House of Wettin as well as Kings of Poland. It is known for the different architectural styles employed, from Baroque to Neo-Renaissance.

Most of the castle was reduced to a roofless shell during 13 February 1945 bombing of Dresden.  For the first 15 years after the end of the Second World War, no attempt was made to rebuild the castle, except to install a temporary roof in 1946. Restoration began in the 1960s with the installation of some new windows and progressed slowly in following decades.  The castle's restoration is ongoing, with part of the State Apartments reopening in September 2019, nearly 75 years after the bombing, demonstrates the complexity of the restoration work.

We had lunch in the nearby Neumarkt square at a pizza restaurant.  Dietrich shared that his work focuses on the nearby countryside where people are leaving in large number, especially young people and young women.  This has been "the pattern for decades, but it's become stronger now," with more women leaving than men because "they want to find a job" and "they're more courageous."

He said that "there is very cheap ground where you can build a house." Also they are offering tax reductions in the towns to make it more attractive."  However,  "some places, it didn't work."  To retain people, rural communities need "a grocery store and a doctor."

Below are some views of Neumarkt square which is a culturally significant section of central Dresden. This historic area was almost completely wiped out during the Allied bombing during the Second World War. After the war, Dresden fell under Soviet occupation, and later the communist German Democratic Republic rebuilt the Neumarkt area in socialist realist style and partially with historic buildings.

Below is a panoramic photo of Neumarkt square.

We next went to the Frauenkirche. The reconstruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche is one of the most remarkable restoration projects in modern European history. 

The lutheran church was originally built as a sign of the will of the citizens of Dresden to remain Protestant after their ruler had converted to Catholicism (there is a statue of Martin Luther in front of the church). The original Baroque church was built between 1726 and 1743 by Dresden's city architect, George Bähr, becoming one of Europe's finest examples of Protestant architecture.

The church was badly damaged during the Second World War and finally collapsed on the morning of 15 February 1945, two days after the devastating Allied bombing raids that destroyed most of Dresden's city center.

After the destruction of the church in 1945, the remaining ruins were left for nearly half a century as a war memorial, following decisions of local East German leaders. Under the GDR, it remained a permanent ruin as a reminder of the horrors of war. The ruins became a powerful symbol during the East German period, serving as both a war memorial and later a gathering place for protests against the communist regime. 

Following the reunification of Germany, it was decided to rebuild the church, starting in 1994. Before reconstruction could begin, a massive archaeological undertaking was required.   The underground area where services were held during reconstruction is shown in the picture above.

The individual stones were repaired and remodeled by the masons and then returned to their original places in the church walls. The result of this process is a building whose patchwork of differently colored stones stands as vivid and impressive testimony to its history (you can see the variations in the stone in the picture to the left.)

Because of the dark patina covering the old building, created by heat and years of exposure to the weather, which induces a natural process of discoloration of the sandstone through oxidation of the iron it contains, the new and old elements contrast strongly, making the building resemble a jigsaw puzzle.The individual stones were repaired and remodeled by the masons and then returned to their original places in the church walls. The result of this process is a building whose patchwork of differently colored stones stands as vivid and impressive testimony to its history. 

The reconstruction of its exterior was completed in 2004.  The interior reconstruction was finished in 2005.

From there we walked to Brühl's Terrace which is a historic architectural ensemble in Dresden. Nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe", the terrace stretches high above the bank of the river Elbe, and is located north of the recently rebuilt Neumarkt Square and the Frauenkirche.

The views in this area were quite amazing.  See the pictures below.  

Our next visit was a closer look at the Royal Palace which I mentioned above.  The interior courtyard has a covered dome which was fortuitous as we were experiencing intermittent thunderstorms.

Today, the residential castle is a museum complex that contains the Historic and New Green Vault, the Numismatic Cabinet, the Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs and the Dresden Armory with the Turkish Chamber. It also houses an art library and the management of the Dresden State Art Collections.

When the rain let up, Dietrich headed home.  His commentary throughout the day had been invaluable to our understanding of challenges facing the area.  

Victoria (the daughter of a friend of Christine's mother) had joined us earlier in the day.  My conversations with her unfortunately were limited as she only spoke German and my limited vocabulary does not suffice for an actual conversation.  However, Christine kindly translated for us!  I am standing with Victoria and Dietrich in the picture below.

Victoria, kindly invited us to her apartment (just up the street) for coffee and cake before we headed back to Berlin.  Her apartment was spacious, centrally located and furnished with some beautiful furniture inherited from her grandparents and dating back to the early 1900s.  

The cake she served to us was Dresdner Eierschecke which is sometimes also referred to as "Saxon pastry".  It consists of three distinct layers: a yeast-leavened base, a custard-like center, and a layer of egg whites on top. The traditional filling relies on quark, a type of dairy product that is not always readily available outside of Europe.

After our lovely visit with Victoria, we headed back to the train station for our 3 hour train ride back to Berlin arriving just before midnight.