Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Zwinger

Last year when we were travelling through Germany, we kept running into paintings of Augustus the Strong, Prince of Saxony and one of the Electors of what was by now the Holy Roman Empire of the German Peoples. Robust, confident, with a zest for life, he obviously made a big splash in his time (1670-1733). Here in Dresden we found out why. He is “one of the most famous of the Saxon rulers, and the most important native of Dresden. King of Poland as well as Saxony, he had “an extraordinarily strong and healthy nature.” He was strong enough to break a horseshoe in two, loved hunting, pleasure and women, He had one legitimate and eight illegitimate children, and he looked after all of them.. As a ruler he was the first in Europe to introduce a consumption tax - what we might call GST. He loved military glory, was a great builder of palaces and collector of arms and armour, mechanical devices, jewels and beautiful things, He had the largest collection of porcelain in Europe - 20,000 pieces.. When wars made it impossible to import from China, he sponsored the development of fine porcelain making in Europe. By 1715 his factory at Meissen was making fine china of the highest standard.

This morning we headed for another Baroque treasure. the Zwinger, built first for court celebrations, then developed to house Augustus’ many magnificent collections. By 1730 it was “a first-class museum in breath-taking architecture” . The entire complex, influenced by Italian architecture seen by Augustus on his travels, was celebrated as “The Florence of the Elbe.” All the more tragic then that the Zwinger complex, the Court Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, and the world-famous Semperoper (Opera House) nearby were massively damaged. With heroic commitment, the people of Dresden, generous backers, and lovers of the arts worldwide have restored much of this unique complex and are working on the rest.

Neil, Marie-Thérèse and I arrived at the Palace early, so we, took the opportunity to visit the Cathedral. Reconsecrated in 1962, the Cathedral is stunning.

We then crossed the road to the Zwinger,, definitely built to impress. The building is regarded as one of the most important Baroque monuments in Germany. We wanted to visit the Zwinger because of its famous Old Masters Picture Gallery, the Gemäldergalerie. For Kiwis from the ends of the earth, it’s a real thrill to walk into a room and find yourself face-to-face with a masterpiece you have only ever seen in a book. The scale, the brushwork, the subtleties of colour - you learn so much more about these works when they are right in front of you: room after room, artists after artists - Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, El Greco, Caravaggio, Van Dyck …..

Sadly, after three hours we were flagging. We could have come back every day for a week! So by common ageement, and because we had another major outing this evening - a concert at the Semperoper - we decided to call it a day.

We found a lovely outdoor restauarant called Alex (!), and enjoyed some great food. Then back home for a rest .Baca lagi