Dresden: A Town Renewed

Today we took a day trip to Dresden which is about two hours south of Berlin.  Our tour guide today was named Torbin.  He was born in Germany, but grew up in Long Island.  He has lived in Berlin for almost 12 years.  Dresden is a popular tourist destination because it was bombed in early February of 1945, a mere few months before the end of WWII.  Since it's destruction in 1945 the city has been steadily reconstructed in its original form.

The town was established as a Slavic settlement in the medieval times and was in the kingdom of Saxony (now the German state of Saxony).  There is a lot of history, regardless of its destruction and many buildings have incorporated pieces that were left from after the bombing with new structures.  As in any traditional European city it was influenced heavily by the Renaissance and particularly Baroque art.  The figures are very expressive and span the city in gods and mythology.  The figures behind us in the picture below is Hercules holding the world in place of Atlas in exchange for golden fruit.  This represents the green houses we were standing on top of.

In front of the fortress and the green houses

As the history of the city still remains even though the buildings are actually 20th century productions, the lineage of the royal family is portrayed on a wall in the middle of the city.  You cannot see it in this picture, but the stone that is being used to recreate the city has a chemical reaction to the weather which turns it black over time.  City officials tried to clean it to make it look nicer, but it weakens the rock so they've stopped.  It actually looks older when it oxidizes.

Lineage of the royal family

There are many historical churches throughout the city that house multiple artifacts not destroyed or only partly destroyed in the bombing.  They house organs, altars, art work, and even the heart of Augustus the Great, the previous King of Saxony. 

One the wall is an etching of a Walk of Death, where Death is leading
all types of people (workers, children, clergy, etc) symbolizing that
it doesn't matter what status you are, you all end up the same place

The city was really beautiful and gave us the traditional feel of a European city that Berlin does not have.  There were grassy areas, a river, and open air!