Der Dresdner Zwinger - Dresden, Germany
N 51° 03.209 E 013° 44.095
33U E 411333 N 5656533
The Zwinger (Der Dresdner Zwinger) is a palace in Dresden and a major landmark of German baroque architecture.
Waymark Code: WM9ZH7
Location: Sachsen, Germany
Date Posted: 10/22/2010
Views: 150
Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony, returned from a grand tour through France and Italy in 1687–89, just at the moment that Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles. On his return to Dresden, having arranged his election as King of Poland (1697), he wanted something similarly spectacular for himself.
The Zwinger was designed by Pöppelmann and constructed in stages from 1710 to 1728. Sculpture was provided by Balthasar Permoser. The Zwinger was formally inaugurated in 1719, on the occasion of the electoral prince Frederick August’s marriage to the daughter of the Habsburg emperor, the Archduchess Maria Josepha. At the time, the outer shells of the buildings had already been erected and, with their pavilions and arcaded galleries, formed a striking backdrop to the event. It was not until the completion of their interiors in 1728, however, that they could serve their intended functions as exhibition galleries and library halls.
The death of Augustus in 1733 put a halt to the construction because the funds were needed elsewhere. The palace area was left open towards the Semperoper square and the river. Later the plans were changed to a smaller scale, and in 1847–1855 the area was closed by the construction of the gallery wing now separating the Zwinger from the opera place; the architect was Gottfried Semper, who designed the opera house.
The building was mostly destroyed by the carpet bombing raids of 13–15 February 1945. The art collection had been evacuated before, though. After the war, in a referendum, the people of Dresden voted to restore the building and generally preferred to rebuild the glories of the city, instead of having the ruins razed to make way for the architecture of socialist realism then prevalent in the German Democratic Republic.
Style: Baroque
Type of building (structure): Chateau or castle
Date of origin:: 1728
Architect(s): Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann
Web site of the object (if exists): [Web Link]
Address: Theaterplatz 1
01067 Dresden
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Visit Instructions:
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