"Rizen from the ashes" a Dresden Travel Page by el_ruso

Dresden was an originally Slavonic village (drozd is a type of a forest bird), as are most of the cities in East Germany, became a town in the XII century, however nothing remains from that time except for a portion of the city wall in one of the underground passages.

It later became the capital of markgrafs, then kurfursts, then kings of Saxony that belonged the Wettin dynasty. The most famous one was August the Strong that left a rich architectural legacy (and probably a depleted treasury). The city was bombed out by the British airforce just days before Germany's surrender and entry of the Soviet troops. Saxony became a part of GDR until Germany's reunification in 1991. Most of the historic monuments were rebuilt during the GDR period, but the centerpiece, the Lutheran cathedral, and the Neumarkt square around, are being rebuilt at this time.

Inasmuch as Germany has brought a lot of destruction to its neighbors during WW II, in my opinin the deliberate bombing of this city during the last days of the war neither served any military objective, nor provided any comfort to those who had suffered earlier from Luftwaffe's bombardments. I have not been to GDR but my guess is the transformation has been amazing. Most concrete blocks inherited from Socialist times have been updated and modernized, and actually much of the architecture and city plan from the earlier period is quite nice, especially the pleasant and expansive shopping/ entertainment area along Prager Strasse.

There is an information booth at the entrance to Zwinger palace. Most tourists are from other parts of Germany. The city, especially the Neumarkt square, right now is in the midst of construction, as much is being rebuilt or remodeled, and given the rate of rebuilding much should be finished within a year or two. The tram system is very efficient, and the train station is only 8 minutes from the very center of the city. The city is spotless clean and is very organized.

The main attraction of the city is the incredibly beautiful architecture from the turn of XVIII century built during the reign of August the Strong. It consists of the Catholic and Lutheran cathedrals, Zwinger summer palace, Pilnitz country palace, art galleries, and many more. Also the earlier royal palace is impressive in its own right. The other amazing sight is the mosaic along August Strasse showing all the Saxon rulers.

If you have a bit of extra time, you can visit the Northern bank of Elba (Laba) to stroll along the nice tree-lined avenues, go up on a cable car to a romantic restaurant, visit the suburbs built up by the elite at the turn of the XX century, see the three marvelous romantic castle-like residences along the Elba (Laba) river. There is also a great dairy/ cheese store in one of the newer suburbs.

If you have even more time, you can take a boat cruise to the towns nearby, or visit the towns of the Luzhitza region where you can experience the heritage of the small Sorbian Slavonic nation. Unfortunately, I didn't get to do that, since I was in Dresden for only one day.