Theme Week Dresden – New Synagogue

17 June 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

New Synagogue © Maros M r a z/cc-by-sa-3.0

New Synagogue © Maros M r a z/cc-by-sa-3.0

The New Synagogue is a synagogue in Dresden. The edifice was completed in 2001 and designed by architects Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch. The building was shortlisted by the jury for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2003. It was built on the same location as the Semper Synagogue (1839–1840) designed by Gottfried Semper, which was destroyed in 1938, during the Kristallnacht.   read more…

Theme Week Dresden – The Frauenkirche

11 April 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  18 minutes

© flickr.com - Christian Prade/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Christian Prade/cc-by-2.0

The Dresden Frauenkirche is a Lutheran church in Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony. Although the original church was Roman Catholic until it became Protestant during the Reformation, the current Baroque building was purposely built Protestant. It is considered an outstanding example of Protestant sacred architecture, featuring one of the largest domes in Europe. Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during World War II. The remaining ruins were left as a war memorial, following decisions of local East German leaders. The church was rebuilt after the reunification of Germany. The reconstruction of its exterior was completed in 2004 and its interior in 2005. The church was reconsecrated on 30 October 2005 with festive services lasting through the Protestant observance of Reformation Day on 31 October. It now also serves as symbol of reconciliation between former warring enemies. The surrounding Neumarkt square with its many valuable baroque buildings is also reconstructed since 2004. The Frauenkirche is often called a cathedral, however it is not the seat of a bishop. The bishop’s church is the Church of the Cross. Once a month, an Anglican Evensong is held in English, by clergy from the St. George’s Anglican Chaplaincy. The original Baroque church was built between 1726 and 1743, and was designed by Dresden’s city architect, George Bähr, who did not live to see the completion of his greatest work. Bähr’s distinctive design for the church captured the new spirit of the Protestant liturgy by placing the altar, pulpit, and baptismal font directly centred in view of the entire congregation. In 1736, famed organ maker Gottfried Silbermann built a three-manual, 43-stop instrument for the church. The organ was dedicated on 25 November and Johann Sebastian Bach gave a recital on the instrument on 1 December. The church’s most distinctive feature was its unconventional 96 m-high dome, called die Steinerne Glocke or “Stone Bell”.   read more…

Theme Week Dresden – State Art Collections

13 December 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (English: Dresden State Art Collections) is a cultural institution in Dresden, owned by the State of Saxony. It is one of the most renowned and oldest museum institutions in the world, originating from the collections of the Saxon electors in the 16th century. The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen has been a state-owned enterprise since January 1, 2009. The association includes twelve museums which operate independently within the context of their own collection, but all share various institutions and facilities as well as a central administration. In 2012 2.5 million visitors visited the museums.   read more…

The Lusatian Lake District

28 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Lusatian Lake District map © Maximilian Dörrbecker/cc-by-sa-2.0

Lusatian Lake District map © Maximilian Dörrbecker/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Lusatian Lake Distric is a chain of artificial lakes in Germany, situated across the north-eastern part of Saxony and the southern part of Brandenburg. Through flooding as a part of an extensive regeneration programme, several decommissioned lignite opencast mines are in process to be transformed to Europe’s largest artificial lake district by 2018.   read more…

Theme Week Dresden – The Semperoper

16 July 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Sebastian Terfloth/cc-by-3.0

© Sebastian Terfloth/cc-by-3.0

The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper ballet. The building is located on the Theatre Square in central Dresden on the bank of the Elbe River in the historic centre of Dresden. The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841. After a devastating fire in 1869, the opera house was rebuilt, partly again by Semper, and completed in 1878. The opera house has a long history of premieres, including major works by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.   read more…

Hoyerswerda in Upper Lusatia

15 July 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Market Square with fountain, town hall and Johanneskirche © Frank Weiner

Market Square with fountain, town hall and Johanneskirche © Frank Weiner

Hoyerswerda is a town in the district of Bautzen in the state of Saxony. It is located in the Sorbian settlement area of the Upper Lusatia, a region where some people speak the Sorbian language in addition to German. Cities in proximity are Cottbus 35 km in the north-west, Dresden 55 km in the south-west and Berlin 150 km in the north.   read more…

The Monument of the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig

9 April 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Monument of the Battle of the Nations © André Karwath/cc-by-sa-2.5

Monument of the Battle of the Nations © André Karwath/cc-by-sa-2.5

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations is a monument in Leipzig to the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations. Paid for mostly by donations and by the city of Leipzig, it was completed in 1913 for the 100th anniversary of the battle, at a cost of 6,000,000 Goldmark.   read more…

The Erzgebirge in Ore Mountains

15 February 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Weather Station on Fichtelberg © Wikijunkie/cc-by-sa-3.0

Weather Station on Fichtelberg © Wikijunkie/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Ore Mountains in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for many centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range. The highest peaks are the Klínovec and the Fichtelberg. The area played an important role as the setting of the earliest stages of the early modern transformation of mining and metallurgy from a craft to a large-scale industry, a process that preceded and enabled the later Industrial Revolution.   read more…

The porcelain and wine city of Meissen

24 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Meissen seen from 'Juchhöh' in the nearby mountains 'Spaargebirge' © Olaf1541/cc-by-sa-3.0

Meissen seen from ‘Juchhöh’ in the nearby mountains ‘Spaargebirge’ © Olaf1541/cc-by-sa-3.0

Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony. The Grosse Kreisstadt is the capital of the Meissen district.   read more…

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