Dresden sightseeing

Photographic late afternoon and evening stroll through Dresden,

the capital of the German state Saxony.

Dresden Frauenkirche in the light of the setting sun, seven years after its reconsecration in 2005.

Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque and rococo city centre.  

The golden equestrian sculpture of King / Elector August the Strong

The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts along the Brühl's Terrace at the Elbe river banks.

Nearby you find the Fürstenzug - the Saxon sovereigns depicted in Meissen porcelain.

From left to right: A part of Dresden Castle, the Katholische Hofkirche (English: The Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony), the Zwinger Palace (in the background) and the Semper opera house.

 Taken from the Semper opera house: Katholische Hofkirche and Dresden Castle.

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Last but not least: providing insight into Semper opera hall

Let's rock...

...in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains / Elbsandsteingebirge!

Doesn't it look like a scenery of Tolkien's Middle-earth!?

This picturesque place is known as the Bastei, a spectacular rock formation towering 194 metres above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany.

The Bastei has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years. In 1824, a wooden bridge was constructed to link several rocks for the visitors. This bridge was replaced in 1851 by the present Bastei Bridge made of sandstone. The rock formations and vistas have inspired several well-known artists, among them Caspar David Friedrich.

Viewing from the Bastei bridge to the east you have a look on the towering rocks in the old defensive ring around Neurathen Castle. This was once the largest rock castle in the region, but today only the rooms carved out of the rock, passages, the cistern and rebates for the timber of the former wooden superstructure have survived. In the years 1982–1984 parts of the extensive castle were used to build the open air museum.

The famous city of Dresden is only 30 km away from the Bastei and a great basis to explore the Elbe Sandstone Mountains (after having visited the marvellous old town).

The white gold of Meissen

 

Meissen porcelain is the first European hard-paste porcelain that was developed from 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market. The production of porcelain at Meissen, near Dresden, started in 1710 on the Albrechtsburg and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers, still in business today as Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH. 

 View from the Albrechtsburg on the river Elbe and the eastern part of Meissen.

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End of October we visited the Holy Grail of porcelain manufacturing in Germany:

The Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH

The headquarters in the town of Meissen, Saxony, is production plant, demonstration workshop, showroom, museum, sales outlet and flagship boutique all in one.

 In four separate demonstration workshops visitors are guided through the main stages of porcelain production. So you will be able to witness the craftsmanship that goes into making Meissen Porcelain.

1. Relief-moulded cups are “thrown” and parts of figurines moulded at the workbenches of a thrower and modeller.

 2. A person known as a repairer or fettler then joins the parts of a figure together. A finished example stands before the visitors as a guide on how to proceed.

3. Underglaze painting is demonstrated citing the example of Meissen’s famous Onion Pattern.

4. The tour concludes with a display of overglaze painting. Floral decorations and painting based on oriental motifs are used to illustrate this multifaceted technique with its extensive nuances of colour.

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Ok, let's continue with a view to the Meissen artCAMPUS exhibition, on three current porcelain artworks of Chris Antemann, an US lady and artist...

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Some other masterpieces I was able (and allowed) to photograph in the museum...