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DAY 8 / TUESDAY / MAY 18
ZWINGER PALACE
OVERNIGHT IN DRESDEN
"FLORENCE ON THE ELBE"
Dresden, known as "Florence on the Elbe," offers a impressive combination of
intriguing history,
fascinating architecture and comprehensive museums --- all set along the banks of the
beautiful Elbe River.
The man responsible for much of the grandeur of Dresden was
August der Starke,
Elector of Saxony and King of Poland.
Augustus the Strong, as he is called in English, was not only a great patron of the
arts. Legend has it that this Saxon Hercules could break horseshoes with his bare
hands, amused himself with the most beautiful women in the land,
and fathered 354 children with his many mistresses.
Dresden’s Zwinger Palace (Der Dresdner Zwinger) is a major German landmark. The
location was formerly part of the Dresden fortress of which the outer wall is conserved.
The sheer size is intimidating, which is the point. Augustus the Strong dreamed of
becoming "the Sun King of Saxony" and the Zwinger Palace was his answer to Louis XIV’s
construction of Versailles. The year was
1697 and Augustus, already Elector of Saxony, had recently received the title of
King of Poland and wanted something to rival the palace of the French King.
The Zwinger was not enclosed until the neoclassical building by Gottfried Semper
called the Semper
wing was built to host the
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister art museum,
one of the world’s
most renowned collections.
Among the important works in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
is one of the most frequently discussed
and best-loved paintings of the Renaissance,
the so-called Sistine Madonna by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio).
The museum boasts an outstanding collection of high-ranking masterpieces. Among the primary
focuses of its holdings are Italian painting of the Renaissance - as exemplified by major
works of Raphael, Giorgione and Titian - as well as works in the Mannerist and
Baroque styles.
Of equal significance is the inventory of Dutch and Flemish paintings of the 17th
century. Not only are Rembrandt and his followers represented with a large number of works
of superb quality, but the collection also comprises paintings by Vermeer and Ruysdael and
the great Flemish artists Rubens, Jordaens and Van Dyck.
The gallery moreover presents major works of Old German and Old Dutch painting by artists
such as Jan van Eyck, Dürer, Cranach and Holbein. Splendid paintings by Spanish and French
artists of the 17th century – among them Ribera and Murillo, Poussin and Lorrain –
are also to be found in the collection.
The Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden
at night as seen from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
The Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden, our home for two nights, is
conveniently located across the
street from both the Zwinger Palace and the Green Vault. The hotel is Dresden's finest, a member
of the Leading Hotels of the World.
This former palace was built in 1705 by Augustus the Strong for his favourite mistress,
Anna Constantia Countess of Cosel. The Taschenbergpalais was the residency of
the Wettin Crown Princes in the middle of the 18th century.
The palace was completely destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in February 1945.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism, the decision was made
to rebuild the palace.
The meticulous rebuilding of the historical monument lasted two years
and cost 127.8 million Euros. As much of the original structures as possible was used in the
reconstruction. The gates of the former royal palace were opened
to its first guests on March 31, 1995.
DAY 9 / WEDNESDAY / MAY 19
THE GREEN VAULT
OVERNIGHT IN DRESDEN
In 1723, Augustus the Strong
began renovating his treasure chambers to give the enviable royal jewel
collection a worthy home in Dresden.
When the eight glittering Baroque
rooms were finished in 1730, Augustusus opened the doors to the public,
thereby creating Europe's first public museum--a display that was
irrefutable evidence of his wealth and absolute power.
Despite being firebombed to ruble by the Allies during World War II, Dresden has
arisen from the ashes miraculously to its former baroque glory and today houses two,
not one, over-the-top wunderkammern.
The Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) enjoys world renown as one of Europe’s
most sumptuous treasure chambers, a museum that contains the largest collection of
treasures in Europe.
It features a unique and rich variety of exhibits
from the period of baroque to classicism. It is often referred to as a walk-in treasure
chest. It contains nine rooms, each with its own exhibition theme.
The crown jewels used by the Saxon kings of Poland and some reminders of the Polish
monarchs, like a 14th century cup of Queen Jadwiga of Poland, illegally appropriated
by Augustus, are also displayed in the Grünes Gewölbe.
During World War II, three of the nine rooms were damaged by bombs, but the treasure
itself was kept safely elsewhere. The Soviet army seized the treasures in 1945, but
gave them back in 1958 to the German Democratic Republic.
The Neues Grünes Gewölbe (New Green Vault) presents some 1,080 objects
of the Renaissance to Classicist periods on
the first upper floor of the West Wing.
The New Green Vault contains princely assets originally
housed elsewhere, plus items added after Augustusus’s death in 1733. Together they
represent Europe’s most magnificent treasury museum, and to the American mind, an
embarrassment of riches.
That almost all of this princely collection survived is even more extraordinary. One
component of it, Augustus’ silver service –including many 6-foot-high
sterling urns and candlesticks and 3000 pieces in all—was melted down in 1772 and
turned into thalers during a Saxon economic crisis.
But the rest survived, several times being boxed up and stored in the palace
basement or in a remote mountain fortress, including during the firebombing of
World War II. It was then taken to Russia in 1945 and then returned by the
Russians to their East German allies in 1958.
And then the historic Green Vaults building, badly damaged in the firebombing,
was totally refurbished and reopened in 2006 in its baroque glory as envisioned
by Augustus.
A circular tour through ten display rooms
focuses on many of the collection’s major works, including the Golden Coffee Set,
the Royal Household of the Grand Mogul and the Ivory Frigate with its paper-thin
sails, as well as the exceedingly precious Green Diamond hat clasp and the Cherry
Stone with the 185 countenances.
(L-R) Saxony Premier Stanislaw Tillich, U.S. President Barack Obama,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the major of Dresden Helma Orosz sign
in the golden book in the Green Vault in Dresden on June 5, 2009.
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