A trip to the capital of the German state of Saxony, known for its diverse musical productions such as the Staatskapelle, the Kreuzchor boys' choir, the Opera House and the Philharmonic Hall, as well as numerous international music festivals featuring electronic, alternative and jazz music, offers, among other things, an insight into the many different forms of art. Dresden is also a city of Baroque architecture, where 1.5 million tourists travel every year for its rich treasure of cultural monuments, its colourful history backed by legends, and the works of art by old masters on display in museums and galleries. Its second name is "Jewel Box", because with its Baroque and Rococo architectural architecture in the old city centre, it gives the impression of luxury despite the shocking past of the 20th century. Get to know Dresden's architecture, museums and historical monuments and get up-to-date practical tips about the city before your trip.
Altstadt, the old town centre that was almost completely destroyed by bombing during the Second World War, has not preserved the architectural excellence of Dresden's cultural heritage. These had to be reconstructed and rebuilt according to the plans of the previous architecture. One such historical monument from the 18th century, which was rebuilt in 2005, is the Baroque Evangelical-Lutheran Frauenkirche Church. The soul of the Dresden Frauenkirche has been restored with the help of modern technology and the material of the old ruins, placing every usable stone in the original position of the church building. Using a computer imaging program, they moved the remaining material around the screen and tried to place it in the architecture of the building with different layouts in order to help architects determine where a particular stone fits in the reconstruction of the church. Some 3800 old stones from the Baroque church were used to reconstruct the architecture.
Which festival events take place throughout the year and bring joy to the daily lives of Dresdeners and travellers who come to see various events, both music and film, and also during the holidays, such as the Christmas celebrations in the markets in December, is the question with the answer of the seven festivals that are on the list of activities to visit in Dresden. Here is why these are the most recognisable seven Dresden festivals, where the old and the young come together and why we are recommending them to you:
Dresdner Musikfestspiele is one of Europe's largest music festivals, which annually hosts a varied programme of classical music with internationally renowned performers and orchestras in May and June. Here you can hear the Berlin or New York philharmonic ensemble and other famous names of the world's pop, rock and jazz music scene, such as Jamie Cullum, Gregory Porter and Eric Clapton.
The Internationales Dixieland Festival Dresden has been taking place since 1971 and now brings together eight days of jazz performers at Europe's largest and Germany's oldest jazz festival. The Swingin’ Dresden jazz event attracts over half a million visitors each year, culminating with a distinctive Dixieland parade in the capital of Saxony at the end of the festival.
Canaletto - Das Dresdner Stadtfest, Germany's largest festival, opens the second to last weekend in August with eighteen venues on both banks of the Elbe, featuring eight stages and more than 1,000 different artists. It's a free event that stretches from the historic city square Theaterplatz, the modernist Kulturpalast building to the Goldener Reiter monument.
The Filmnächte am Elbufer open-air film festival has been attracting a large number of people since 1991, making it the top German film festival in the country. The festival will take place from 27 June to 1 September, at a time when you will be able to see an interesting selection of film production and concerts with the most beautiful and stunning background of the old town.
Filmfest Dresden International Short and Animated Film Festival began with an international competition three years later, after the creation of the first festival in 1989. Alongside the cash prizes for the best short and animated films, the winners are awarded a Golden Horseman statuette, based on a baroque equestrian statue. The film festival will take place from 16 to 21 April.
Elbhangfest is organised by a non-profit organisation of 38 participants that helped made the Dresden street festival happen on a voluntary basis since 1991. The idea for the festival was born after the events of the civic movement in 1989, which led to the annual organisation of the festival, which has been held every last weekend in June from the very beginning. The festival programme includes 200 events.
The Striezelmarkt will celebrate the 590th Christmas Festival in 2024, where Dresdeners have celebrated the Christian holiday of Christmas since 1434. The festive market will be open all day from 27 November to 24 December in Dresden's Old Altmarkt, the rectangular market square that has become the heart of the city since Dresden's foundation. The Christmas Festival is one of the first Christmas fairs in the world.
This Dresden selection of activities will lead you on various organised tours, where you will discover the past in the present of the Baroque city of Dresden. As dusk falls over the city, indulge in entertaining anecdotes and spooky stories while touring the old town with a night watchman. A guided historical tour with an animator presents historical points with typical monuments. The next activity, accompanied by the horror stories of the dungeon master and the sun of the moon, takes you through the old city centre, where you will discover the dark sides of the city with the criminal acts of gruesome murders and robbery. A trip to the past with VR glasses offers an insight into the Baroque period, the year 1719. The 45-minute tour shows the lifestyle of a Dresden local at the time and the marriage of Frederick Augustus III and Maria Josepha. Cross the Waldschlößchenbrücke bridge over the Elbe River on a Segway electric scooter to see the old and new parts of the Elbe Valley city with its many cultural attractions.
After the historical-fantasy activities and the scooter ride, head to the cultural institutions, museums and get acquainted with the various cultural amenities, such as the simulated day and night environment of the rainforest panorama, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, the reconstructed Frauenkirche, the collections of paintings and sculptures from the 19th century in the Galerie Neue Meister and the Skulpturensammlung in the Albertinum, the 800-year-old history in the Dresden City Museum along with paintings from the 16th century to the present day in the Städtische Gallery, and the transport history in the Dresden Transport Museum:
You can enrich your visit to Dresden's cultural institutions, museums and galleries such as the Panometer, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Frauenkirche, Albertinum, Stadtmuseum and Verkehrsmuseum with the six activities we suggested, which will also give you some of the other benefits of getting to know Dresden's culture. This way you can visit museums and galleries and get to know Dresden better.
Before your trip, we advise you to try to find out useful information about the destination, the capital of Saxony, Dresden, with practical travel tips that can help you on your trip. When choosing hostels and exploring places, Hostelling International Slovenia can help you with the experience of journalists, volunteers and their travelogues, which combine information about tourist destinations, personal travel experiences and the best HI hostels. Travel articles can be found in the online magazine Globetrotter, the first Slovenian electronic magazine, which you can get free of charge on your e-mail. For her trip to Dresden, journalist Nika Ajdovec wrote a travelogue for readers entitled Dresden and Saxony Switzerland, in which she presents her experience of travelling in the Dresden area. Travel with Globetrotter online magazine and get all the information you need about HI accommodations for a sustainable way to travel.
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