Wingsch Real Estate Investments   

Theme Week Dresden – The Zwinger

Saturday, 17 November 2012 - 11:16 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union
Category/Kategorie: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post The Zwinger (Der Dresdner Zwinger) is a palace in Dresden built in Rococo style and designed by court architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. It served as the orangery, exhibition gallery and festival arena of the Dresden Court. The location was formerly part of the Dresden fortress of which the outer wall is conserved. The name derives from the German word Zwinger (outer ward of a concentric castle); it was for the cannons that were placed between the outer wall and the major wall. The Zwinger was not enclosed until the Neoclassical building by Gottfried Semper called the Semper Gallery was built on its northern side.

Today, the Zwinger is a museum complex that contains the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery), the Dresden Porcelain Collection (Porzellansammlung), the Armory (Rüstkammer) and the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon (Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments).

The Zwinger covers an area on the northwestern edge of the Innere Altstadt (“inner old town”) that is part of the historic heart of Dresden. It is located in the immediate vicinity of other famous sights, including Dresden Palace and the Semperoper opera house. The Zwinger is bounded by Sophienstraße in the southeast, Postplatz in the south, Ostra-Allee in the southwest, the Am Zwingerteich road in the northwest and Theatre Square (Theaterplatz) in the east. Nearby buildings include the Dresden State Theatre to the southwest, the Haus am Zwinger to the south, the Taschenbergpalais hotel to the southeast, the west wing of the palace with its Green Vault to the east, the Altstädtische Hauptwache to the northeast, the Semper Opera to the north and the former royal stables to the northwest. Within view lie the Catholic Court Church and the Italian Village in Theatre Square, the Wilsdruffer Kubus on Postplatz and The Duchess Garden with the remnants of the former orangery building in the west. The terraced banks of the River Elbe are located 200 metres northeast of the Zwinger.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Der Dresdner Zwinger and Wikipedia Dresdner Zwinger.

---

Recommended posts:

• Theme Week Dresden – The Semperoper
• Theme Week Dresden – State Art Collections
• Inner old town of Dresden
• Theme Week Dresden, Florence on the Elbe
• Theme Week Dresden – New Synagogue
• Inner new town of Dresden
• Theme Week Dresden – The Frauenkirche
• Bundeswehr Military History Museum
• Berlin Wall, Bernauer Strasse and East Side Gallery
• Silicon Saxony in Dresden
• The Munich Residenz
• Theme Week Potsdam – Studio Babelsberg, parks and palaces
• German Unity Day
• Theme Week Bolivia – Sucre
• Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome in Berlin