Dresden Information
Dresden is the capital of the state of Saxony, located in eastern
Germany. It is a world heritage site and major tourist destination,
known for its classical buildings such as the Semperoper (Opera house),
the Zwinger (Art Gallery), and the recently rebuilt Frauenkirche
(Church of our Lady). The beautiful meadows along river Elbe start
directly in the city center and extend towards the outskirts, where
they are flanked by vineyards and the Elbe castles (the workshop dinner
will be in one of them).
More information can be found in the Wikipedia entry on Dresden.
You can watch a 4-minute
video about Dresden provided by the International Center for
Computational Logic ICCL. The weather in May is usually fine, with
temperatures around 15-25 degrees celsius. However, be also prepared
for a (hopefully) occasional rain shower. Dresden weather information
is available at Yahoo Weather.
Impressions of Dresden
Dresden Tourism
A trip to Dresden should include a walk through the historic city
center. Try to see at least the following, which are all within
easy walking distance:
- The Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady), which was destroyed in
WWII and only recently rebuilt.
- The Fürstenzug, a huge mural showing sovereigns of Saxony,
made from famous Meissen porcelain.
- The Schloss (Castle) with Hofkirche (Church); In the Schloss, you
may want to visit the Grünes
Gewölbe (green vaults), displaying the rich (and amusingly exaggerated)
treasury of the saxon sovereigns.
- The Zwinger, for the building and the art gallery of classical
paintings.
- The Semperoper (Opera house).
- The Brühlsche Terassen by the river Elbe are also
worth a visit. From here, you can take a steamboat on the Elbe or stroll up the Elbe meadows
on foot. For the latter, we recommend to walk upstream (there are
paths on both sides) towards the Elbe castles and the bridge Blaues
Wunder (blue wonder). The walk to Elbe castles takes about 20mins,
to Blaues Wunder about 45mins. Trams go back from Blaues Wunder
(southern side) and from the main road behind Elbe castles (northern
side).
For pubs, restaurants, and loads of Wilhelminian style buildings,
visit the Neustadt quarter. From the city center
(e.g. Hauptbahnhof), take tram line 7 to Albertplatz (~10 mins). You
can then walk up Alaunstrasse to the north to enter Neustadt. The main
streets with pubs and restaurants are Alaunstrasse and Louisenstrasse.
Dresden is also well-known for its beautiful surroundings. Here is just
a sample:
- Sächsische Schweiz is a rocky national part,
which has stunning views and is perfect for hiking, biking, and
climbing. The official website is here. You can conveniently get there by S-Bahn from
Hauptbahnhof within 30-60 minutes. Get off somewhere between Rathen
and Schmilka. Major tourist destinations in sächsische Schweiz
include the Bastei and Königstein Fortress.
- Castle Pillnitz is a baroque castle located at the Elbe river. One way
to reach it is by steamboat.
- Moritzburg Castle is a baroque castle located in an area of lakes and forests.
See also the tourism
website of City of Dresden.