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| Located on the river ], '''Dresden''' is the capital city of the ] state of Saxony, with a population of about 500,000. | Located on the river ], '''Dresden''' is the capital city of the ] state of ], with a population of about 500,000. | ||
| A Slavic settlement on the right (northern) bank of the river was joined in 1206 by a German town on the left bank, the heart of today's <i>Altstadt</i> (old town). The seat from 1270 of the Wettin landgraves of Meissen and from 1485 of the dukes (from 1547 also electors) of Saxony, between 1806 and 1918 it was the capital of the kingdom of Saxony, a part from 1871 of the German Empire. | |||
| ⚫ | The city has suffered repeated damage: by fire in 1491, from bombardment in 1760 and during the suppression of a constitutionalist uprising in 1849. Renowned for its architecture, and as a center for elaborate porcelain manufacture (based at nearby Meissen from 1710), the city was largely destroyed by ] in February 1945 near the end of ]. One of the major restorations in progress is that of the ''Frauenkirche'', or Church of Our Lady. | ||
| In its past, Dresden has served as the seat of the Wettin landgraves of Meissen (from the 11th century). In the 15th c., it became the capital of the principality of Saxony (which became a kingdom in the 19th c.). | |||
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Revision as of 12:45, 3 February 2002
Located on the river Elbe, Dresden is the capital city of the German state of Saxony, with a population of about 500,000.
A Slavic settlement on the right (northern) bank of the river was joined in 1206 by a German town on the left bank, the heart of today's Altstadt (old town). The seat from 1270 of the Wettin landgraves of Meissen and from 1485 of the dukes (from 1547 also electors) of Saxony, between 1806 and 1918 it was the capital of the kingdom of Saxony, a part from 1871 of the German Empire.
The city has suffered repeated damage: by fire in 1491, from bombardment in 1760 and during the suppression of a constitutionalist uprising in 1849. Renowned for its architecture, and as a center for elaborate porcelain manufacture (based at nearby Meissen from 1710), the city was largely destroyed by Allied bombing in February 1945 near the end of World War II. One of the major restorations in progress is that of the Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady.