Revision as of 17:58, 11 February 2002 editDavid Parker (talk | contribs)970 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 17:58, 11 February 2002 edit undo68.39.224.8 (talk)No edit summaryNext edit → | ||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
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. | 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. | ||
] |
Revision as of 17:58, 11 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's population quadrupled from 95,000 in 1849 to 396,000 in 1900, surpassing even its rapid growth in the first half of the 18th century.
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.