The Zwinger Palace, built by Augustus II, the Strong, was just one of the casualties of the carpet bombing of Dresden towards the end of World War II. Referred to as "Florence on the Elbe," Dresden was probably more of a cultural center than a military target and many consider its destruction and the 20,000 dead one of the most senseless acts committed by the Allies. Wisely, the paintings of the Zwinger collection had been removed and were returned to the reconstructed palace after the war. The pride of the museum is the "Sistine Madonna: by Raphael but the collection contains many works by Rembrandt, Ruebens and local boy Lucas Cranach, best known for his portrait of Martin Luther. We also visited the more scientifically oriented galleries with collections of globes, clocks, telescopes and more.
Pillnitz, Augustus's other castle
The porcelain collection at Zwinger was closed to the public so we backtracked to nearby Meissen to see the originals on their home turf. Meissen has been producing cups, plates, bowls and objets des artes for more than 300 years in much the same manner with the same materials as it was back in 1710 and every piece bears the hand-painted Meissen logo of crossed swords. The detail is amazing, the colors are vibrant and the prices are staggering.
