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Dresden (Germany)

Dresden is the cultural capital of Germany, which has attracted poets and artists, architects and musicians for centuries. The history of Dresden begins its countdown from 1206. The first mention of the fishing village of Drazhdiana, which later turned into a city, dates back to this year. In 1485 Dresden became the seat of the Saxon Dukes of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. It was from this moment that his true story began.

Over time, the city grew and developed, gaining more and more importance and, as a result, more and more majestic and refined appearance. In 1547 it became the capital of Saxony. Augustus the Strong, who in 1694 became the Elector of Saxony, started from the 1680s. to the transformation of Dresden to the baroque city. By his order, the construction of the Zwinger, the world-famous palace ensemble, began. The construction of the Zwinger was entrusted to the brilliant architect Matthaus Daniel Peppelman, who managed to create a true masterpiece of baroque art. It consists of several buildings, harmoniously combined into a single whole. The side of the palace facing the Elbe was originally enclosed by a wooden gallery, and then by a blank brick wall. In 1847, the architect Gottfried Semper was commissioned to build an art gallery instead of a wall, and he designed a two-story building in the Renaissance style.

Opened in 1854, the Dresden Art Gallery has gained fame as one of the richest in the world. Paintings by Titian, Veronese, Van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt, Durer, Holbein were kept here. In 1945, the city was horribly bombed. Many architectural monuments were badly damaged, some simply turned into dust. Zwinger did not escape this fate. Fortunately, during the war, the collection of paintings was evacuated and thus preserved for posterity. Most of the collection is exhibited in the restored gallery building.

In the gallery of the Old Masters you can see Raphael’s masterpiece – “The Sistine Madonna”. In our time, a gallery of New Masters has been created, where European art schools of the 19th and 20th centuries are represented. (especially the German school). Today in the Zwinger you can visit the armory, see the porcelain collection, the museum of zoology and the Mathematical Physical Salon. In the courtyard are graceful cascades of fountains.

The main churches of Dresden are the Gothic-style Kreuzkirche, the Protestant Church of the Virgin Mary (Frauenkirche), the Catholic Court Church (Hofkirche). Kreuzkirche was built in 1215 on an ancient place of worship that existed in a fishing village. The history of the church is dramatic – five times it was destroyed or burned down completely. The church acquired its present appearance in 1792. The Kreuzkirche was built in the late Baroque style with elements of classicism. In 1897 there was a strong fire that completely destroyed the interior of the church. In just three years, it was restored, and the bell tower was completed to 92 meters and decorated with five bells. The bells were cast at the end of the 19th century and have survived to this day.

The Frauenkirche represents one of the pinnacles of Protestant church building in Saxony and a work of European Baroque. Its construction dates back to 1726 – 1743. It was the largest Protestant church in Germany. During the bombings of 1945, the Frauenkirche fell into ruins. But in 1994, its restoration began. In parallel, the reconstruction of the Dresden New Market and the streets around the Frauenkirche is underway.

The Hofkirche, built in the Baroque style, is an adornment of the palace ensemble along the Elbe. The temple was built according to the project of the Italian Gaetano Chiaveri from 1739 to 1751. The customer was Friedrich August III – the son of Augustus the Strong. The richly decorated Hofkirche became the main Catholic church of the Bishopric of Dresden-Meissen. Worthy of attention are the Augustusbrücke – a stone bridge over the Elbe, built in the 18th century, and the Dresden Opera House, built in 1878 by the famous German architect Gottfried Semper, which is now more often called the Semper Opera House after its creator.

Hamburg (Germany)

According to PETSINCLUDE, Hamburg is one of the oldest cities in Germany. His whole life is connected with the port, which is the “pearl” of the city. There are about 2,400 bridges in Hamburg, by their number the city is even ahead of Venice.

The symbol of Hamburg is the Baroque St. Michael’s Church. For lovers of hiking, this is simply a paradise – there are probably no such number of covered passages in any other city in Europe. Not to be missed are the social and shopping street Jungfernstieg, as well as the Reeperbahn, an entertainment district with nightclubs and discos.