If you are considering to go on a trip to Germany, Dresden should definitely be on your itinerary planning, since this city is always worth a visit. I myself met this desire for the first time last week, when I was visiting some friends there. Anyhow I regret that I had not taken a chance to go there hitherto because the sights are really impressive and time was unfortunately too short to visit any of the exhibitions but nevertheless I managed to go on an extended sightseeing tour.

Dresden is located on the river Elbe and is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The city has about 500,000 inhabitants and is also the state capital of the Free State of Saxony, which again borders on Poland in the east, the Czech Republic in the east and southeast, the German federal state of Brandenburg in the north, the German federal state of Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt) in the northeast, the German federal state of Thüringen (Thuringia) in the west, and the German federal state of Bayern (Bavaria) in the south. Since the river Elbe tides through the cityscape, Dresden is also called das Elbflorenz (the Florence on the Elbe.

The core of the town is its Historic City with the Theaterplatz (lit. Theater Square) as the center, which is surrounded by imposing baroque buildings: die Semperoper (Semper Opera), the gallery building of the world famous Dresdner Zwinger (Zwinger Palace), das Residenzschloss (Dresden Castle), die Hofkirche (Dresden Chapel Royal) as well as the wall mosaic of the Fürstenzug (Procession of the Princes).

Another part of the Historic City is the Brühlsche Terrasse (Brühl’s Terrace), which you can reach within a 2-minute walk from Theaterplatz, past the Castle and the Chapel Royal. Brühl’s Terrace is also called Balkon Europas (Balcony of Europe) where you can take a seat on any of the numerous benches and enjoy the view of the Elbe and the other part of the city on the other side of the river. It reaches from Augustusbrücke (Augustus Bridge) to Carolabrücke and is about 500 meters long. On the terrace you can also find the Albertinum – a museum that exhibits art from the Romantic period up to the present age and die Staatliche Akademie der bildenden Künste (The National Academy of Fine Arts).

Since all historic buildings are centrally located in the Historic City of Dresden, visitors can easily comb all historic buildings and places within one hour. But if you are interested to visit the various exhibitions you should take more time.

Of course, there is much more to say about Dresden, therefore you will have the chance to learn more about this amazing city in my upcoming post.