Apple's Planet

A Stroll In The City of the Saxons 2008

For many centuries, Dresden has held a place of political and military importance. It was the seat of Saxon kings for over 800 years. The city lays claim as the first place in Europe to manufacture the cigarette, coffee filter, tea bag, and latex condom—as well as squeezable toothpaste. The concept of zoned development has its origins in Dresden. Additionally, it became a key center of the camera and typewriter industries.

At 9.51pm on Tuesday, 13 February 1945, Dresden’s air-raid sirens sounded as they had done many times in the previous five years, until then most always a false alarm. But this time it was not meant to be a false alarm. By the next morning, the Allieds had dropped more than 4,500 tons of high explosives and incendiary devices. More than 35,000 inhabitants perished in the terrifying firestorm, and thirteen square miles of the city’s historic centre, including incalculable quantities of treasure and works of art, lay in ruins. It was Ash Wednesday 1945.

After enduring the ravages of World War II, isolation behind the iron curtain, the floods of 2002 and just two years short of it's 800th anniversary, Saxony's capital is on the threshold of achievements that will further enhance its already impressive arts and cultural credentials.

Splendidly situated on the banks of the river Elbe, Dresden in east-central Germany, was the capital of Saxony as early as the 15th century. However, the city's chief claim to fame is its 18th-century architecture and cultural heritage. The riches of the `Old Town' (Altstadt) would embarrass any other city. Opera houses, cathedrals, palaces, art academies, cupolas and galleries, all ornate and all overwhelming, compete for attention