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|Bundesland: Freistaat Sachsen||Saxony|
|kreisfreie Stadt: Dresden|
Dresden is situated at an elevation of 113 m at the river Elbe. Dresden is the capital of Germany's state of Saxony. With its population of about 490,800 (2005) it is one of the three metropolitan areas that together form the metropolitan region Sachsendreieck (Dresden, Leipzig-Halle, and Chemnitz-Zwickau). The city of Dresden is administered as a district in its own right. The municipality has a population of about 530,000 (2011).
The earliest traces of human settlements date from the Neolithic period. The earliest mention of Dresdene is found in a document of 1206. The name most probably is derived from the old sorbic word 'Drežďany', refering to the inhabitants of a lowland forest. Around 1500 Dresden became the residence of the margraves of Meißen and dukes of Saxony from the Wettin dynasty (see chart of the Wettin dynasty). The 'Wittenberg Kapitulation' of 1547, which ended the War of Schmalkalden, transfered the rank of Electors from the Ernestine to the the Albertine line of the dynasty. Saxony thus became the most influential Protestant country within the Holy Roman Empire. Under Elector Friedrich August I (King August II of Poland) Dresden became one of the most important cultural centres of Europe. During the Napoleonic times, Saxony was allied with France. With approval of Napoleon, Saxony was elevated to a kingdom in 1806. After the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig (1813) and the Congress of Vienna (1815), the territory of the kingdom was reduced by almost two thirds: its northern and eastern parts were annexed to Prussia (province Saxony), the Thuringian possessions fell to the Ernestine Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Nevertheless, Saxony remained one of the strongest countries in Europe, even after 1871 when it became part of the German Empire.
After World war I, Dresden became the capital of the Free State of Saxony within the first German Republic. During World War II Dresden was spared from battles for most of the war. However, on 13/14 February 1945, the town was almost completely destroyed by a British and American bomb raid. Current estimates calculate the loss of some 35,000 people. After the war, parts of the historic old town were cleared, the remaining ruins and several churches were blown up. Some other historic buildings, however, such as the Zwinger, the Hofkirche and the opera house were restored. After the reunification of Germany in 1990 the efforts to restore parts of the historic appearance were renewed.
The Elbe valley from übigau Palace and Ostragehege fields in the northwest to the Pillnitz Palace and the Elbe River Island in the southeast, crowned by the Pillnitz Palace and the centre of Dresden with its numerous monuments and parks was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004 (see also list of other UNESCO heritage sites).
The Catholic Hofkirche (Court church) [left, no. 792, and right, no. 1055: background left] was built for Elector Friedrich August II (August III as king of Poland) by the architect Gaetano Chiaveri. The Baroque church was the largest church of Saxony. The nave has a length of 50 m and a height of 20 m, the church tower is 85 m tall. Seventy-eight statues of saints were created by Lorenzo Mattielli for the ballustrade areound the nave. The organ was creaetd in 1755 by the famous organ-builder Gottfried Silbermann. The crypt beneath the church holds the tombs of members of the Wettin dynasty. After its destruction in 1945, the church was restored until 1965. In 1980 it obtained the status of a cathedral, the new seat of the bishops of the diocese Dresden-Meißen.
The bridge, August-Brücke [left] was built in 17271731
by the famous Baroque architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. It was named for Friedrich August I (August 'the Strong').
By the beginning of the 20th century, the bridge could not accomodate the increasing traffinc any more. It was torn
down in 1907 and was replaced