Dresden (Sorbian: Drježdźany; etymologically from Old Sorbian DrežÄany, meaning people of the riverside forest) is the capital city of the German Federal Free State of Saxony. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The city's population is 500,000 (2006) and the population in greater Dresden is 1.1 million. Dresden is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area, with an overall population of over 3.2 million.
Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with extraordinary cultural and artistic splendor. The controversial Bombing of Dresden in World War II and subsequent 40 years of membership of the GDR changed the face of the city dramatically.
Since German re-unification, Dresden has been a cultural, political, and economic centre in the eastern part of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Geography LocationDresden lies on both banks of the river Elbe, mostly in the Dresden Elbe Valley Basin, with the further reaches of the eastern Ore Mountains to the south, the steep slope of the Lusatian granitic crust to the north and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to the east at an altitude of about 113 meters. The northern parts of Dresden are in the West Lusatian highlands (Westlausiter Berg- und Hügelland). The depth influx valleys and the higher areas in the south of Dresden characterise the change to the eastern foothills of the Ore Mountains. The Elbe valley basin is a part of the Saxon Elbe Landscape. The highest point of Dresden is the Triebenberg, at about 384 meters in altitude. With a pleasant location and a mild climate on the Elbe, as well as Mediterranean architecture, Dresden was given the sobriquet 'Elbflorenz' (Florence of the Elbe).
After a series of incorporation of neighboring rural communities in the past 60 years, Dresden became the fourth largest city in area in Germany. Only Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne are larger in area.
The most important river in Dresden is the Elbe river, the only navigable body of water to flow through the city. There are also a number of tributaries such as the river Weißeritz.
SurroundingsThe nearest German cities are Chemnitz (80 km to the southwest), Leipzig (100 km to the northwest) and Berlin (200 km to the north). The Czech capital Prague is about 150 km to the south; the Polish city of WrocÅ‚aw is about 200 km to the east. There are some medium-sized towns such as Pirna (40,000 inhabitants), Freital (40,000), Radebeul (33,000 inhabitants) and Meißen (28,000 inhabitants) in the borough of Dresden. Riesa and Freiberg are not far away.
Greater Dresden, which spreads in the neighbouring districts of Kamenz, Meissen, Riesa-Großenhain, Sächsische Schweiz, Weißeritzkreis and in small parts in the district of Bautzen, has a population of around 1,250,000 inhabitants.[2]
NatureDue to the many rural districts it has incorporated, among other things, Dresden is one of the greenest cities in Europe, with 63% of the city being green areas and forests. The Dresden Heathland ('Dresdner Heide') in the north of Dresden is a cohesive forest of 50 km² in size. There are four nature reserves in Dresden. The additional Special Areas of Conservation cover an area of 18 km². The protected gardens, parkways, parks and old graveyards host 110 natural monuments in the city.[3] The Dresden Elbe Valley is a world heritage site which is focused on the conservation of the cultural landscape in Dresden. One important part of that landscape is the Elbe meadows which cross the city, 20 kilometers long.
ClimateMost of the city is in the Elbe valley, where the microclimate differs from that on the slopes and in the highlands. Klotzsche, at 227 metres above sea level, is one of the higher districts of the city. Klotzsche hosts Dresden weather station. According to experience, the weather in Klotzsche is 1-3°C colder than the inner city's climate. Especially in summer the nights are well-temperatured in the city: Temperatures of 25°C at midnight are no exception. The average temperature in January is −0.7°C and in July 18.1°C.[4] Summers are hotter in Dresden and winters are colder than the German average. Dresden lies in a climate zone of cold-moderate climate crossing over to a continental climate. The inner city's average monthly temperatures are almost the same as those in cities in southwest Germany; on average 10.2°C per year. In hot summers, Dresden is between the hot Lusatia and the milder Ore Mountains. Both regions are characterised by strong winters: temperatures of −20°C are not impossible in Dresden. The driest months are February and March, with precipitation of 40 mm. Spring months have often been arid in the last couple of years (with less than 10 mm of precipitation). The most precipitation falls in July and August, at 60 mm per month.
Flood protectionDue to its location on the banks of the Elbe and where some water sources from the Ore Mountains flow to, flood protection is an important aspect of the city's development. Large areas are kept free of buildings to provide a floodplain. Two additional trenches of about 50 metres in width have been built to keep the inner city free of water from the Elbe river by dissipating the water downstream through the inner city's gorge portion. Flood regulation systems like detention basins and water reservoirs are almost all outside the city area.
However many locations and areas have to be defended by walls and sheet pilings. A number of districts in Dresden become waterlocked if the Elbe river is flooding some of its old bayous.
City structuringDresden is a spacious city, not only due to the most recent incorporations in the 1990s. The districts of the city differ in their structure and appearance. Many parts of city still contain an old village core, while some quarters are almost completely preserved as rural settings. Other characteristic kinds of urban areas are the historic outskirts of the city, the former suburbs with dotted housing. In Socialist times a lot of apartment blocks were built. Not unsurprisingly, the districts in Dresden are a mix of all these kinds of area.
The original parts of the city are almost all in the districts of Altstadt (Old town) and Neustadt (New town). Growing outside the city walls, the historic outskirts were built in the 18th century. They were planned and constructed on the instruction of the Saxon monarchs, which is why the outskirts are often named after the sovereigns. From the 19th century the city only grew by incorporating other districts. Dresden was divided into the five city districts 'Mitte' (centre), 'Ost' (east), 'West', 'Süd' (south) and 'Nord' (north) between 1958 and 1991.
Since 1991 Dresden has been divided into ten districts called 'Ortsamtsbereich' and nine former boroughs ('Ortschaften') which have been incorporated. An 'Ortsamtsbereich' hosts subunits of the Dresden community's political and administrative institutions. The 'Ortschaften' are granted a higher degree of political self-rule. The district with the largest population is Blasewitz; the largest in area is Loschwitz. The largest 'Ortschaft' is Schönfeld-Weißig covering an area called 'Schönfelder Hochland' (Highlands of Schönfeld). The inner city includes the districts of Altstadt and Neustadt.
The Triebenberg hill, mentioned above as Dresden's highest point, can be found in the Schönfelder Hochland. Triebenberg formerly housed a Soviet radar station. The perimeter fence and sectional concrete access road can still be seen. Now Dresden's Technical University has an electron microscope laboratory on the hill top in a modern building.
Early and pre-war historyAn ancient Slavic settlement known as DrežÄany ('alluvial forest dwellers') on the northern bank of the river was joined in 1206 by a German town on the southern bank, the heart of the present day Altstadt ('old town'), while the Slavic part is called Neustadt ('new town'). The founder of the city was Dietrich, Margrave of Meissen.
Since 1270, starting with Henry the Illustrious, Dresden became the capital of the margravate. After his death, however, the city became the property of the King of Bohemia and , later, the Margraves of Brandenburg. It was restored to the Wettin dynasty in about 1319. From 1485 it was the seat of the dukes of Saxony, and from 1547 the electors as well.
From 1697-1706 and 1709-1733 Elector Frederick Augustus I ruled from Dresden as King August the Strong of Poland; the city is also known as Drezno in Poland. Because he planned to make Dresden the most important royal residence, Augustus set out to discover the Chinese secret of porcelain (‘white gold'); under his rule, European porcelain was invented in Dresden and Meißen. He gathered many of the best architects and painters from all over Europe to Dresden; the city also experienced a vibrant blossoming of musical life at this time, particularly under the direction of Johann Adolph Hasse. His reign marked the beginning of Dresden's emergence as a leading European city for technology and art. His son Frederick August II also reigned from Dresden as Augustus III of Poland from 1734-1763: during his reign the city was seat of a treaty that ended the Second Silesian War, and suffered heavy destructions in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763).
Between 1806 and 1918 the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony (which was a part of the German Empire from 1871). During the Napoleonic Wars the French emperor made it his base of operation, winning here a famous battle on August 27 of that year.
During the 19th century, the city became a major center of industry, including automobile production, food processing, and the production of medical equipment. The city also developed into an important center for the international sale of art works and antiques. The city's population quadrupled from 95,000 in 1849 to 396,000 in 1900 as a result of industrialization.
In the early 20th century Dresden was particularly well-known for its camera works, such as Ihagee and Pentacon, which produced the Praktica, and the cigarette factories, one of which was in the impressive Yenidze, a building with a multicoloured glass roof shaped like a mosque which still stands today.
The city has suffered repeated destruction: by fire in 1491, from bombardment by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1760, and during the suppression of the constitutionalist May Uprising in 1849 and the destructive Allied bombing raid of February 1945.
Post-war period (socialist rule)After the Second World War, Dresden became a major industrial center in socialist East Germany with a great deal of research infrastructure. Many important historic buildings were rebuilt, although the communists leaders of the city chose to reconstruct large areas of the city in a bland socialist modern style for economical and ideological reasons, namely to break away from the city's past as the royal capital of Saxony and a stronghold of the German bourgeoisie. However, some of the bombed-out ruins of churches were razed by Soviet authorities in the 1960s instead of being repaired.
Among East Germans, Dresden also earned the nickname 'the valley of the clueless' because the city's location in a valley prevented its residents from watching West German TV, an illegal but popular pastime among East Germans.
On 3 October 1989, (the so-called 'battle of Dresden'), a convoy of trains carrying East German refugees from Prague passed through Dresden on its way to West Germany. Local activists and residents, joined in the growing civil disobedience movement spreading across East Germany by staging demonstrations and demanding the removal of the non-democratic government. The point of this was, the East Germans on the train were literally passing through Dresden on their way to the West, while the residents of Dresden could not go to the West. Youths clashed with riot police at the main train station and significant damage was done to the station from youths throwing stones and security forces using fire hoses on the crowd.
Post-reunificationDresden has experienced dramatic changes since the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s. The city still has many of its wounds from the bombing raids of 1945 but Dresden has undergone significant reconstruction in recent years. The most important urban renewal/reconstruction project was the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche ('Church of Our Lady') and the surrounding Neumarkt district. The church, once the city's symbol and considered the world's finest Protestant church, was rebuilt following German reunification in 1991 from the remaining pile of rubble of the original church's ruins thanks to private and corporate donations. It was completed in 2005, a year before Dresden's 800th birthday. The new Frauenkirche was rebuilt according to historical drawings and photographs and is now open to public service since Reformation Day 2005. Despite the inner city's almost total destruction in World War II, many areas in the central city have been restored to their former glory. The urban renewal process in Dresden will continue for many decades but public and government interest remains high and there are numerous large budget projects underway — both historic reconstructions and modern plans — that will continue the city's recent architectural renaissance.
In 2002, torrential rains caused the Elbe to flood 9 m, past its 1845 record height, damaging many landmarks (See 2002 European flood). The destruction from this 'millennium flood' is no longer visible, due to the rapidity of reconstruction. Disaster relief for the millennial flood came from around the world.
In April 2006 the river flooded again, but did not reach 8 meters. Though not as significant economically as the 2002 flood, many homes and businesses were again flooded - only 4 years after the last such disaster.
In 2004 the United Nation's cultural organization UNESCO declared Dresden and the surrounding section of Elbe river valley to be a 'World Heritage' site.
Dresden remains a major cultural center of historical memory, owing to the city's destruction in World War II. Every year on 13 February, the anniversary of the major British fire-bombing raid that destroyed most of the city, tens of thousands of demonstrators gather to commemorate the event. Similar ceremonies held during the period of communism were specifically directed at demonizing the Western Allies, above all the United States. Since reunification, the tone of the ceremonies has taken on a more neutral and pacifist tone. In recent years, however, right-wing extremist skinheads have tried to instrumentalize the event for their own political ends. Affiliated with the radical right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), they cite the bombing of Dresden in order to portray Germans as the real victims of the Second World War, and try to take advantage of anti-American sentiment to do it. In 2005, Dresden was host to the largest Neo-Nazi demonstration in the post-war history of Germany. Between five and eight thousand Neo-Nazis took part, mourning what they call the Allied bomb-holocaust (German: Alliierter Bombenholocaust).
Government and politicsThe city council defines the basic principles of the municipality by decrees and statutes. The council gives orders to the burgomaster by voting for resolutions and thus has some executive power. It is elected by the citizenry for a legislature of five years by an election system of three votes per citizen. There an advisory councils for local affairs of senior citizens and immigrants. The ten Ortsamtsbereiche (districts) have an advisory council which has to be heard in district affairs. The Ortschaften (former boroughs) have even smaller councils, which can decide even more freely in local affairs.
Currently there is no persistent governing majority in the city council of Dresden. Decisions and majorities of the council depending on the political subjects.
The Supreme Burgomaster is directly elected by the citizens for a term of seven years. Executive functions are normally elected indirectly in Germany. However, the Supreme Burgomaster shares a lot of executive rights with the city council. Governing majorities can be in opposition to the Supreme Burgomaster. He is the head of the municipality, is responsible for the city's operative affairs, and is ceremonial representative of the city. The highest departments of the municipality are managed by seven burgomasters. The First Burgomaster (currently the burgomaster of culture) is also the deputy to the Supreme Burgomaster.[5]
The current Supreme Burgomaster Ingolf Roßberg was convicted in the criminal cases of embezzlement and abetted bankruptcy in the first instance. He has been given a suspended sentence and was suspended from his position by a higher authority. The First Burgomaster and burgomaster of culture Lutz Vogel is standing in for him.
The municipality is divided into seven departments and the Mayor's Office.[6]
The City of Dresden owns a lot of institutions and enterprises. Some of them are private companies (for example the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (transport authorities), the DREWAG (public services and energy supply), the Messe Dresden (fair ground) or the Zoo Dresden (which is a non-profit GmbH: a limited liability company).
Local affairsLocal affairs in Dresden often center around the urban development of the city and cityspaces. Architecture and design of public places is a specifically controversial subject. The discussion of the Waldschlößchenbrücke, which is a planned bridge crossing the Elbe river, received international attention due to it crossing the Dresden Elbe Valley World Heritage Site. Opponents of the bridge are concerned that its construction would cause the loss of the status of a World Heritage site.[7] The city held a public referendum on whether to build the bridge in 2005.
In 2006 Dresden sold its publicly subsidized housing organization, WOBA Dresden GmbH, to the US-based private investment company Fortress Investment Group. The city received 987.1 Million Euros and paid off its remaining loans, making it the first large city in Germany to become debt free. Opponents to the sale were concerned about Dresden's loss of control on the subsidized housing market [8]
The construction of a new soccer stadium has been in planning for several years but has not yet been realized. The earliest start date for upgrading the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion is in spring 2007.
Sister citiesAlong with its twin city Coventry, Dresden was one of the first cities to twin with a foreign city. The two cities became twins after World War II in an act of reconciliation as both had been nearly destroyed by bombing during the war.
Blazon: Party per pale on a golden shield showing a black lion to dexter and two black pales to sinister. The lion is looking to dexter and has a red tongue. The city's colours are derivatively black and yellow (Or).
Meaning: The lion was representing the Margraviate of Meissen and the pales called the Landsberger Pfähle were representing the Mark Landsberg both ruling the city of Dresden. Since 1309 both coat of arms in combination are verifiably in use. The pales were originally blue but converted to black to differentiate from the two other important Saxon cities of Leipzig and Chemnitz having very similar coat of arms.
Culture and architectureDresden is seeking to regain the kind of cultural importance it held from the 19th century up until the 1920s when it was a centre of both fine and visual arts, architecture and music. During that period, famous artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Dix, Oskar Kokoschka, Richard Strauss, Gottfried Semper and Gret Palucca were active in the city. Dresden also is home to several important art collections, world-famous musical ensembles and significant buildings from various architectural periods, many of which were rebuilt after the destruction of the Second World War.
Important theatre and opera institutes are:
Important musical ensembles:
In Summer 2006, as part of Dresden's 800th Anniversary celebrations, the Pet Shop Boys performed together with the symphony on the pedestrian mall at Prager Strasse. The back drop for the performance was a GDR-era concrete apartment block upon which a light show was displayed.
Museums, presentations and collectionsDresden hosts the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) which is one of the world's most important museums and collections. The art collections consist of eleven museums of which the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister and the Grünes Gewölbe are the best known.
Other museums and collections owned by the Free State of Saxony in Dresden are:
Although Dresden is often said to be a Baroque city, its architecture is influenced by more than one style. Other eras of importance are the Renaissance and Historism as well as the contemporary styles of Modernism and Postmodernism.
The royal buildings are among the most impressive buildings in Dresden. The Dresden castle was once the home of the royal household. The wings of the building have been renewed, built upon and restored many times. Due to this segued integration of styles, the castle is made up of elements of the Renaissance, Baroque and Classicist styles.
The Zwinger Palace is just on the other side of the road from the castle. It was built on the old stronghold of the city and was converted to a centre for the royal art collections and a place to hold festivals. Its gate (surmounted by a golden crown) by the moat is a very famous part of the building.
Other royal buildings and ensembles:
The Hofkirche was the church of the royal household. August the Strong, who wanted to became King of Poland, was forced to convert to the Catholic religion, as the Polish king had to be Catholic. At that time Dresden was strictly Protestant. August the Strong ordered the building of the Hofkirche to establish a sign of religious importance in Dresden. The church is the cathedral 'Sanctissimae Trinitatis' since 1980. The church hosts the crypt of the Wettin Dynasty. In contrast to the roman-catholic church the Frauenkirche was build almost contemporaneously by the citizens of Dresden. It is said to be the greatest cupola building in Central and North Europe. Furthermore, the Frauenkirche is the largest church in Dresden, leading Dresden to be one of the few places where a cathedral is not the largest Christian sacral building. The cities historic church is the Kreuzkirche.
Dresden has been an important site for the development of contemporary architecture for centuries, and this trend has naturally extended into the 20th and 21st centuries.
Historicist buildings made their presence felt on the cityscape until the 1920s. One of the youngest buildings of that era is the Hygiene-Museum, which is designed in an impressively monumental style but employs plain facades and simple structures. It is often but wrongly attributed to the Bauhaus school.
The architectural plans of the National Socialist regime were not realised. Large-scale buildings next to the Großer Garten park were meant to establish Dresden as a subsidiary, regional capital. Some of the contemporary buildings were found to be 'un-German'.
Most of the present cityscape of Dresden was built up after 1945, a mix of reconstructed or repaired old buildings and new buildings of the modern and postmodern styles of the second half of the 20th century. Under the German Democratic Republic, from 1945 and 1990, Dresden was planned and reconstituted as a model socialist city. Streets were arranged to keep chimneys of the industry in sight. Wide streets and squares were cut into the landscape. Central public spaces, such as the Altmarkt, were surrounded by neoclassical Socialist Realist structures of relatively high quality.
Buildings that were established between 1945 and 1990 are for example:
After 1990 and German reunification, new styles emerged. Contemporaly buildings:
Important bridges crossing the Elbe river are
The most famous sculpture in Dresden is the golden equestrian sculpture of August the Strong called the 'Goldener Reiter' (Golden Cavalier) on the Neustädter Markt square. It shows August at the beginning of the Hauptstraße (Main street) on its way to Warsaw where he was King of Poland in personal union. Another sculpture is the memorial of Martin Luther in front of the Frauenkirche.
There are about 300 fountains and springs in Dresden were they are often placed in parks or on squares. The wells only serve in a decorative function since there is a fresh water system in Dresden. Springs and fountains are also elements in contemporary cityspaces.
Other sculptures, monuments and fountains:
There still a lot of small cinemas and theatres of cinematic arts offering a programme of cult films and current films of low budget or weak promotion that were selected by their cultural worth. Dresden also has a couple of Multiplex Cinemas of which the Rundkino is the oldest. The cinema build in a circular building is today out of order.
Dresden has been a centre in the production of animated films and of the optical cinematic techniques. The Dresden Filmfest hosts a contest of short subjects which is among the most endowed contests in Europe.
Infrastructure and economyIn 1990 Dresden — an important industrial centre of East Germany — had to struggle with the economic collapse of the Soviet Union and the other export markets in eastern Europe. East Germany had been the richest Communist country but was faced with competition from western Germany after reunification. After 1990 a completely new law and currency system was introduced in the wake of Communism's downfall, and eastern Germany's infrastructure was largely rebuilt with funds from western Germany. Dresden as a major urban center has developed much faster and more consistently than most other regions in the former East Germany, but the city still faces many social and economic problems which stem from the collapse of the communist system, including high unemployment levels.
InfrastructureThe Bundesautobahn 4 (European route E40) crosses Dresden in the northwest from west to east. The Bundesautobahn 17 leaves the A4 in a south-eastern direction. In Dresden it begins to cross the Ore Mountains towards Prague. The Bundesautobahn 13 leaves from the three-point interchange 'Dresden-Nord' and goes to Berlin. The A13 and the A17 are on the European route E55. Several Bundesstraße roads crossing or running through Dresden.
There are two main inter-city transit hubs in the railway network in Dresden: Dresden Hauptbahnhof and Dresden-Neustadt railway station. The most important railway lines run to Berlin, Prague, Leipzig and Chemnitz. A commuter train system (Dresden S-Bahn) operates on three lines alongside the long-distance routes.
Dresden Klotzsche Airport is the international airport of Dresden, located at the north-western outskirts of the town in the district of Klotzsche. Its infrastructure has been improved by new terminals and a motorway access route.
Dresden has a large tramway network that is operated by the Dresden Transport Authority. Because the geological bedrock does not allow the building of underground railways, the tramway is very important in public transport in Dresden. The Transport Authority operates twelve lines on a 200 km network.[9] Many of the new low floor vehicles are up to 45 metres long and produced by Bombardier Transportation in Bautzen. While many tracks in the system are on separated roadbeds (often with grass grown around them to avoid noise) some tracks are still placed on the streets especially in the inner city.
The CarGoTram is a tram that supplies Volkswagen's Transparent Factory, crossing the city. The transparent factory is located not far from the city centre next to the city's largest park.[10]
The most important newspaper published in Dresden is the Sächsische Zeitung which has a circulation of around 300,000. The second main newspaper, Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten, is a newspaper with a circulation of about 50,000. The Sächsische Zeitung was established in 1946 and became the press media of the socialist party SED in the district of Dresden until 1990. It is now a much more independent newspaper with a small influence by the social-democratic party.
The 'Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten' has even older origins. It first came out in 1893 and ran until 1943 when its offices were closed down by the Nazis. During GDR times, the same offices produced the newspapers 'Die Union' (the regional press organ of the Christian Democratic Union), the 'Sächsisches Tageblatt' (the regional press organ of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany and the 'Sächsische Neueste Nachrichten' (the press organ of the National Democratic Party of Germany). All these newspapers were controlled by Socialist censorship between 1949 and 1990. 'Die Union' was the first newspaper in the GDR that reported about the Monday demonstrations in GDR realistically and freely. In 1990 the newspapers joined back together again and took back on the name Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten; the newspaper celebrated its 110-year anniversary in 2003.
Dresden is the home of the Saxon Broadcasting Center which is a subunit of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk and hosts the regional studios. Dresden Fernsehen is a television channel broadcast in Dresden while there are a number of private radio stations broadcasting throughout Saxony.
Another sobriquet of Dresden is connected with the media: Because citizens of Dresden were not able to receive (uncensored) television programmes broadcast in the former western states during Socialist times, Dresden gained the name 'Tal der Ahnungslosen' which means 'Valley of the Clueless'. The television channel ARD was known as 'Außer Raum Dresden' ('except the Dresden area').
Dresden is the capital of a German Land (federal state). It is home to the Saxon state parliament and the ministries of the Saxon government. The controlling Constitutional Court of Saxony is in Leipzig. The highest Saxon court in civil and criminal law, the Higher Regional Court of Saxony, has its home in Dresden.
Most of the Saxon state authorities are located in Dresden. Dresden is home to the Regional Commission of Dresden, which is a controlling authority for the Saxon Government. It has judicial superintendence over eight rural districts, two urban districts and the city of Dresden.
Just like many cities in Germany, Dresden is also home to a local court, has a trade corporation and a Chamber of Industry and Trade and many subsidiaries of federal agencies (such as the federal labour office or the Federal Agency for Technical Relief). Additionally, Dresden hosts some subdepartments of German Customs and the eastern Federal Waterways Directorate.
Dresden is also home to a military subdistrict command but no longer has large military units as it did in the past. Dresden is the traditional location of army officer schooling in Germany which is today carried out in the Offizierschule des Heeres.
EconomyUntil famous entreprises like Dresdner Bank left Dresden in the socialists era to avoid their nationalization, Dresden has had a huge importance among German cities. The period of the GDR until 1990 was characterised by low economic growth in comparison to west German cities. The entreprises and production sites broke down almost completely as they entered the social market economy. Since then the economy of Dresden is on a way of recreation.
The unemployment rate fluctuates between 13 and 15% and is still relatively high today. Nevertheless, Dresden is the city that has developed the most effectively in all of East Germany and has raised its GDP per capita to 31,100 euro, which is equal to the GDP per capita of some poor West German communities (the average of the 50 biggest cities is around 35,000 euro).[11]
The economy of Dresden involves extensive public funding. Due to extensive public funding of technology, the rate of highly-qualified is around 20%. Due to its dynamism, among other factors, the economy of Dresden is ranked among the best ten cities in Germany to live in.[12]
Three major sectors can be seen as dominating the Dresden economy:
The semiconductor industry was built up in 1969. Major enterprises today are AMD, Infineon Technologies (now partly owned by Qimonda), ZMD and Toppan Photomasks. Their factories attract many suppliers of material and cleanroom technology enterprises to Dresden.
The pharmaceutical sector came up at the end of the 19th century. The Sächsisches Serumwerk Dresden (Saxon Serum Plant, Dresden), which is owned by GlaxoSmithKline, is a world leader in vaccine production. Another traditional pharmacy producer is the Arzneimittelwerke Dresden (Pharmaceutical Works, Dresden).
A third (traditional) branch is that of mechanical and electrical engineering. Major employers are the Volkswagen Transparent Factory, EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke (Elbe Aircraft Works), Siemens and Linde-KCA-Dresden.
Tourism is another branch with high revenue and many employees. There are 87 Hotels in Dresden, which is a famous site of heritage tourism.
Education and scienceDresden is home to a number of renowned universities, but among German cities is a more recent location for academic education.
The Technische Universität Dresden with almost 35,000 students (2004)[13] was founded in 1828 and is among the oldest and largest Universities of Technology in Germany. It is currently the university of technology in Germany with the highest count of students but also has many courses in social studies, economics and other non-technical sciences. It offers a huge spectrum of 126 courses.
The University of Applied Sciences Dresden was founded in 1992 and had about 5,300 students in 2005.[14]
The Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden was founded in 1764 and is famously known for its former professors and artists such as George Grosz, Sascha Schneider, Otto Dix, Oskar Kokoschka, Canaletto, Carl-Gustav Carus, Caspar David Friedrich and Gerhard Richter.
The Palucca School of Dance was founded by Gret Palucca in 1925 and is a major European school of free dance.
The Carl Maria von Weber University of Music was founded in 1856.
Other universities include the 'Hochschule für Kirchenmusik', a school specializing in church music, the 'Evangelische Hochschule für Sozial Arbeit', an education institution for social work, the 'Fachhochschule der Wirtschaft' and the 'Offizierschule des Heeres'. The 'Dresden International University' is a privately founded post-graduate university, founded a few years ago in cooperation with the Dresden University of Technology.
Moreover, Dresden hosts many research institutes of which some have gained an international standing. The domains of most importance are micro- and nanoelectronics, transport and infrastructure systems, material and photonic technology as well as bio-engineering. The institutes are well connected among one other as well as with the academic education institutions.
The Max Planck Society focuses on fundamental research. In Dresden there are three Max Planck Institutes (MPI); the 'MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics', the 'MPI for Chemical Physics of Solids' and the 'MPI for the Physics of Complex Systems'
The Fraunhofer Society hosts institutes of applied research that also offer mission-oriented research to enterprises. With eleven institutions or parts of institutes, Dresden is the largest location of the Fraunhofer Society worldwide.[15] The Fraunhofer Society has become an important location factor and is seen as a serviceable part of the 'knowledge infrastructure'.
Dresden is home to the
The Leibniz-Gemeinschaft operates a research centre in Rossendorf which is the largest complex of research facilities in Dresden, located a short distance outside the urban areas. It still focuses on nuclear medicine. 'Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research' and the 'Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research' are in the material and high technology domain while the 'Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development' is focused on more fundamental research into urbanism.
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