BY RICH GRANT

They say that no one buildings cities like Prague anymore, but that’s not quite true.

Most of the gorgeous baroque, “Old Europe” city you see in the heart of Dresden, Germany, today is brand new, even though it appears to look centuries old.

From medieval-looking back alleys to grand cathedrals, from an impressive baroque opera house to beautiful bridges, from huge squares lined with colorful cafes to a river teeming with nine steamboats, central Dresden ranks for sheer beauty with any of the great cities of Europe.

While the historic center is smaller than Prague, street for street, Dresden has the same feeling. Located midway between Berlin and Prague (just two hours from each city by train), Dresden makes a romantic stopover city, but one that many North Americanshave yet to discover.

Of course, the reason everything in Dresden is new is because the city was completely destroyed in World War II in one of the most horrific bombing raids the world has ever known.

At the outbreak of the war, Dresden was a university town, renowned for its architecture, art treasures, history and beauty. Because of its celebrated status as one of the most elegant cities of Europe and because there were no military targets there, Dresden escaped bombing for almost the entire war.

Through the London Blitz, the D-Day landings at Normandy and the Battle for Berlin, life in Dresden was fairly normal. But all that changed on the night of Feb. 13, 1945.

Allied Air Marshal Arthur “Bomber” Harris had devised a plan to destroy the will