The Capital of Saxony has a high potential as important city destination

„Dresden is a wonderful city,“ remembered the author Erich Kästner, who was born here in 1899. „History, art and nature float over the city and valley, like an enchanting chord from one of the city’s own harmonies.”
Fifty years after its destruction in the Second World War, Dresden again offers the flair of an artistic and cultural city in the almost Mediterranean-seeming Elbe valley. This unique cultural setting has been awarded by the UNESCO which inserted Dresden’s Elbe Valley ti the liust of the World Heritage in July 2004. But Dresden also has the flair of a rising scientific and economic metropolis.

The baroque Zwinger, the Semper Opera House and the baroque Catholic Cathedral, all in the historic centre of Dresden, are the most important sights of the city, which no visitor can afford to miss.
They frame „Theaterplatz”, one of the most beautiful squares in Germany. The immense renaissance Royal Palace of the Saxon kings and the baroque Church of Our Lady are the most important symbols for the reconstruction of the city.

Incountable are the treasures in Dresden’s museums. Raffael’s cherubs are perhaps the most famous ambassadors of the 12 museums of the Saxon state art collections. The “Green Vault” is regarded as one of the most important treasures in the world.
All these museums are included in the Dresden-City-Card, which offers also free transportation and many reductions. A trip on one of the boats belonging to the world’s largest and oldest paddle steamer fleet, to the Chinese-baroque Summer Palace in Pillnitz and its large grounds, is an incomparable experience.

Turn-of-the-century Dresden is perhaps less well known. Sights include the technical monuments of the funicular railway, the cable railway and the iron „Blaues Wunder„ (Blue Wonder) bridge. The colourful Dresden-Neustadt district with its numerous pubs and bars and the surrounding suburbs, (one of the largest built-up and maintained 1900s quarters in Germany), the garden city of Hellerau and the smart residential districts of Blasewitz, Loschwitz and Weisser Hirsch are not only reminders of a great period in Dresden, but also stand for a quality of life which has been recovered after the German unification.

The city’s rich cultural life, with the Saxon State Opera (named the Semperoper after its architect) and its orchestra Saxon Staatskapelle, the State Operetta, the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, numerous festivals and countless small theatres, cabarets and concert halls, also makes Dresden attractive in the evenings.
Dresden also has ideal qualifications for conferences and congresses. The existing possibilities for conventions will be extended in the near future with a new congress centre situated by the Elbe and not far from the historic city centre.

Not to forget Dresden’s beautiful surroundings. The Saxon Wine Road passes through the town of Meissen, which is famous for porcelain and wine, and also right through Dresden, which has its own vineyards.
The Saxon Switzerland with its bizarre sandstone formations attracts nature-lovers. In the Oberlausitz, the Slav culture of the Sorb people has been preserved to today. And Prague can also be visited on a day’s excursion.