The city of art and culture on the Elbe

The city’s cultural scene blends the traditional and the modern. The Elbe Valley around Dresden, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, boasts lush meadows, magnificent villas and majestic palaces. Few other cities have undergone such radi-cal transformation as Dresden.

The peaceful revolution which heralded the end of the socialist GDR also had im-portant roots in Dresden: It began with mass demonstrations at the beginning of October 1989. Alter the unification of Germany Dresden regained its former status as capital of the refounded Free State of Saxony.

Extensive building work has in the meantime transformed the face of the city. Dres-den is once more on the way to becoming one of the most attractive cities in Ger-many. Dresden offers attractions in great variety.

No book about the history of architecture can miss mentioning the Dresden Zwinger, The Frauenkirche Church, Semper Opera House and Royal Palace as well as many other historical monuments and ensembles determine the image of the city. The saucy angels from Raphael’s »The Sistine Madonna« make publicity for Dresden’s art collections in the whole word. Magnificent promenades on the bank of the Elbe, interesting museums and institutions, industrial monuments, charming de-tails – Dresden has a lot for you to discover.

In spite of vast destruction during the Second World War, the Old City part of Dres-den has preserved or regained fascinating ensembles. The most famous symbol of reconstruction in the city centre is the Dresden Frauenkirche Church, the magnifi-cent baroque dome, which already today dominates the city centre.

Many important cultural institutions are situated along the Old City-side of the Elbe banks: from the Old Masters Picture Gallery to the »Green Vault«, the treasure chamber of the Saxon electors and kings.

The Old City is likewise the centre of city life. Around the Altmarkt square and Pra-ger Straße shopping centres, restaurants, culture and work are to be found.

Moreover: When it comes to putting on splendid celebrations, Dresden boasts re-markable traditions dating back centuries, e.g. the »Striezelmarkt«, the oldest Ger-man Christmas market, founded in 1434, the fun fair »Vogelwiese«, which is over 400 years old and diverse Baroque court festivities. In addition there are a great number of new festivals and activities all year round.

The Youth Hostel, right in the city centre but at a quiet place, offers a high standard. There are 480 beds, 250 of them in rooms with ensuite showers and toilets.

The youth hostel is certified with the DJH-profile “youth hostel | International” for international guests. That means: Open 24 hours, trained staff, tourist information in several languages, booking of tourist events at the tourist point and international food.

Youth Hostel Dresden
Maternistraße 22
01067 Dresden
Tel. 0049 351 492620
jhdresden@djh.de
www.jugendherberge.de

Informacije o Dresdnu:
www.dresden.de/tourismus