Dresden Residential CastleThe residence of art
Almost eight hundred years of history are reflected in this Saxon residential castle which was not only a royal seat but also housed one of Europe’s great art collections, the Dresden State Art Collections.
The residential castle is part of a museum complex of extraordinary European significance in which the famous Green Vault, the “Turkish Chamber”, the Armory, the Mint Cabinet and the Copper Plate Engraving Cabinet – Germany’s oldest museum of graphic art – have found a worthy home.
The Great Castle Courtyard shows in an exemplary manner the artistic properties of the Sgraffito whose façades have been richly decorated using the ambitious scratchwork method. The visitor’s lobby of the “Art Residence” is located in the Small Castle Courtyard whose Renaissance architecture is overarched by a bold roof construction which appears to be hovering above and is made of transparent plastic pillows. Close by another precious material protects a unique mural on an outer wall from the adverse effects of time. 25,000 painted tiles made of Meissen porcelain portray a Procession of Princes, a 102 meter long procession which depicts the rulers of the House of Wettin. On the other side of Saxony’s most famous mural is where the stable courtyard, a building with a colonnade which was already a tourist attraction of the city in the 16th century and which forms the backdrop of a romantic medieval Christmas market in December is located. The size and beauty of the castle can be best seen from the 100 meter high Hausmannsturm tower with a platform affording visitors a fantastic panorama view of the Old Town and the Elbe valley below.
Address
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Residenzschloss (Hausmannsturm)
(Entrance Sophienstraße) | D-01006 Dresden
Phone +49 351 49142000
www.skd-dresden.de
Co-operating partner of State castles, palaces and gardens of Saxony.
