It's one of the ten fastest growing cities in Germany, yet there have been efforts to retain a quaint, old-world feel. 63% of the city is green areas and forest, and while myriad architectural styles are reflected throughout the city, there is great interest in preserving the past.
Dresden was destroyed by Allied bombing towards the end of WWII. The RAF and USAF dropped "650,000 incendiaries and 8,000 pounds of high explosives and hundreds of 4,000 pounds bombs in three waves of attacks." Thousands were killed, mostly civilians as it had become a haven for refugees toward the end of the war.
After the war's end, Dresden was occupied by the red army and then became a major industrial center for East Germany. With the breakdown of the wall separating the DDR from the BRD, though, it has been emerging again as a cultural center. Ironically, it seems as though the communist occupation preserved many of the older buildings as proportionately more have been saved and rebuilt (like the Frauenkirche) than in West Germany.
Dresden lies right on the border of the Elbe, making it a picturesque spot for visitors and a delight for shutterbugs.Got your camera?
It's so odd. When they built those buildings, it was from state-of-the-art material with state-of-the-art architectural techniques. It probably didn't even cross their minds that a building might not be there forever. It makes me wonder, what buildings do we have now that we won't? I guess it makes the buildings that do survive more special given that they might have not. Like baby spiders come out stronger the more siblings they've eaten. Okay, so I don't really know if that's how spiders work.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting is that Dresden has a mix of beautiful old buildings the likes of which we don't build any more (Frauenkirche), but then they also have blocks of communist minimalist (ugly) buildings from the post-WWII era, and now they've got post-modernist stuff. It's rather a hodgepodge (sometimes a very unfortunate one looking at the pictures) of architectural styles. What makes each generation think their style is the one that will last?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a cool spot. I would love to visit Germany. However, if I find myself staying in one of the old Soviet era projects, I'll have to remember to watch what I say, since they were (eventually) known to plant numerous bugs in their construction materials. Your description makes me think of St. Petersburg. Could you say that, notwithstanding many differences, St. Petersburg is to Russia what Dresden is to Germany? Cool architecture, culture, accessible by water, a respect for the past yet still progressive, outdoor reserves/parks and gardens and overall, a different feel compared to the rest of their respective countries (as I understand it).
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