The Royal Palace is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden and has been the permanent seat of the Saxon kings since 1485…
It is located in the center connected to other sights such as the Zwinger, the procession of the princes and is not surrounded by walls but is very much integrated into the center of the city.
Every ruler left his mark. When the fire destroyed the east wing in 1701, Augustus the Strong also contributed there, but mostly during his son’s wedding in 1719. when he completed the baroque transformation of the castle.
Today, there are no kings here, but there are several very important museums, which you must not miss. These are the Historical and New Treasuries, which I wrote about here, then the Turkish Chamber, the Imperial Apartments, the Music Cabinet, the Chamber with Costumes and Weapons, etc.
You can visit all these museums with one combined ticket in one day, but I must emphasize that your head and eyes will be full of impressions and it is better to give this visit two days.
During the bombing in World War II, the royal palace was badly damaged. Reconstruction began in 1960 and continues today.
So let’s see what’s hidden inside…
Royal apartments
In September 1719, Augustus the Strong opened these apartments, in honor of the wedding of the century of Archduchess Maria Josefa and his son, Prince Frederik August. On that occasion, the entire floor was renovated and nine new rooms were added. The ever-increasing opulence was changed from room to room, with only one task, to show that this castle was worthy of a king, as well as successfully dealing with the competition in the rest of Europe.
Augustus the Strong was a demanding employer because he had been deeply impressed by Versailles when he had visited it thirty years before.
There is a banquet hall, two receptions, then an audience hall with a throne.
There is also a state room with a large king bed. This bed has not been used, it is there for representational purposes only.
We can take a look at life in the court as Augustus imagined it more than 300 years ago.
Strolling here, I couldn’t believe that those were all replicas. The chandeliers have been restored in detail.
The Ceilings are pure art.
The walls are lined with tapestries, which were made in Spain using a special technique in order to resemble the original as much as possible.
Thanks to the incredible effort, all these apartments have been carefully restored because not much was left of them after the bombing.
The cabinet with pictures is dedicated to Augustus and important personalities of his era.
And finally, I came face to face with Augustus II the Strong…
Here is a life size figure. It is dressed in coronation clothes from 1697. with the life mask of August the Strong from 1704. and with the royal insignia, which symbolizes Polish-Saxon unity.
Saxon royal hat, ceremonial flag and sword, which also symbolize the unity of the Polish and Saxon Monarchy.
Augustus liked to show off his wealth to everyone, even the common people, and especially during weddings, when all of Europe was a guest. Augustus placed his most precious objects on wall shelves.
Later, under the reign of Augustus III, the place on the shelves was occupied for the next 200 years by porcelain, which Augustus the Strong called white gold. This room served as a showcase for displaying Meissen porcelain. Today, the porcelain objects are in the museum located in the Zwinger Palace, which I wrote about here.
Costumes
In four rooms there are clothes and costumes of high fashion from the period 1550 to 1650. They represent the culmination of the Baroque era, whose symbol was above all Louis XIV. Rarely will you find such a complete collection of costumes.
Back then, clothes were more than fashion, they were politics. The clothes were full of symbols and messages.
For example, the so-called landscape costume, worn by the Saxon Elector Johann George from 1585 to 1656. It was embroidered with a landscape of the Elbe near Dresden and Meissen and depicts agricultural activities, people and animals.
The exhibited costumes have been successfully reconstructed, thanks to the great efforts of collaborators from various professions. They consist of 27 ruling costumes made of luxurious materials. In order not to fade and lose quality due to lighting, they will be exhibited in rotations.
Women’s costumes are more difficult to preserve.
Women’s dresses are given away and that’s why this wedding dress of the Saxon princess Magdalena Sibyl of Prussia is a real rarity.
When you look at this part of the exhibition, only one thing comes to your mind, that clothing still makes the ruler because it has to send a message and accompany his status during court celebrations, masquerade balls and weddings.
After the death of Augustus the Strong, his son divided the room into several smaller ones. Three hundred years later, in 2013 to be exact. the hall was reopened in its original size.
It has 741 square meters in a modern version and today it exhibits objects from the period of the 15th to the 17th century such as armor for horses, weapons, swords, parade spears.
At that time, duels played a very important role in the social life of the court. In addition, they also served as a kind of training for upcoming wars. The duels took place in the palace courtyard. Since the participants in the duels wore armor weighing ten kilograms each, the noise they created was deafening.
Several types of duels have been reconstructed in the gallery.
Anzogenrenen (Duel with spears)
Between 1544 and 1566, Elector August personally participated in 55 such duels. The goal is to knock down the opponent with the spear.
Palienstechen (Dueling with a barrier)
In the 16th century, the old type of tournament under Italian influence was replaced by a new, less dangerous type of tournament where opponents are separated by a wooden partition. The goal is to hit the opponent’s helmet.
Fusturnier
In the 17th century, duels were held without horses in the palace courtyard or in the old market, between 1606 and 1679 at least 11 such tournaments were held. Opponents are separated by a wooden fence at waist height.
Turkish room
This room looks like you’ve stepped into Ottoman Turkey. The central part of the exhibition is a 20 m long, 6 m high and 8 m wide tent from the 17th century. The tent arrived in Dresden in 1726. as a trophy from the Turkish wars.
The collection later grew thanks to diplomatic gifts as well as additional purchased items. Many were bought by August the Strong himself.
As a great fan of the Orient, he liked to dress up like a Sultan. He often sent his officials to Constantinople for shopping. Once he even ordered camels and Arabian horses with expensive equipment, which he used during court tournaments.
Today it is considered the largest collection of Ottoman art outside of Turkey.
There are helmets, weapons, glasses. Some of them can still be found only in Dresden.
Conclusion
With the combined ticket you can visit the above mentioned together with the Green Treasury. But you will be overwhelmed if you do it all in one day. Because there is so much to see. August the Strong, really tried to put Dresden on the map of Europe. In the political sense, it did not succeed, but in the tourist sense, it did, because Dresden really has something to show and tell.
Have you been to Dresden?
Did I miss something?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Velickovic
