scubish.com: Scuba diving Dresden - Germany

Understand

Dresden was first mentioned as a city in 1206 and the 800th birthday celebrations therefore took place in 2006. The city has come a long way since then.

It was home to many Saxon princes and kings, the most famous of them being August der Starke (August the Strong), whose kingdom included Poland as well. They apertained to the family of the Wettiner and were closely related to many other European royal families. Many buildings date from their reign and especially the rich art collections are testimony of their extreme wealth. The "Madonna Sixtina" was for instance bought by the son of August the Strong.
The last Saxon king abdicated in 1918.

The historical center of Dresden was completely destroyed in a terrible bombing on 13/14 February 1945 by allied forces. The date is deeply marked in the history of the city and is still remembered each year in processions and ceremonies. The destruction of the priceless art treasures that made the city world famous was and is felt as a wound to the soul of the people. More than 30,000 people died in the bombing - the exact number is unknown, as the city was full of refugees and many burnt completely in the firestorm (unofficial sources give numbers of up to 150,000 dead).
The ruin of the now rebuilt Frauenkirche acted as a call for peace among the different nations of the world.

The historical center is nowadays largely restored to its former glory, some parts are still under reconstruction, however . The city nevertheless is a great place to experience!
Dresden has about ten million tourists a year, most of them from Germany. The Zwinger was rebuilt in 1964, the Sempera Opera house in 1985 and since 2005 this important church gets all the attention. When asked what they like most about their city, Dresden citizens will reply Old Town (which is not very big, even though it has a lot of wellnown attractions and museums of worldwide meaning), Dresden-Neustadt (an alternative central quarter) and the sourroundings like the wine town Radebeul or the climbing area Saxon Switzerland, or a lot of castles, and maybe most of all the city landscape of about 80 quarters.
It's essential to know that the last thing is really a core competence of Dresden which helped the city to survive when the innercity was totally destroyed after Second World War. The number of international tourists is growing, especially regarding the US and China, Dresden is a stop between Prague and Berlin, that´s why just one city quarter can be recommended to get the whole idea. Blasewitz is in the architectural perspective probably the most interesting living quarter, despite there are truly many in the hilly city landscape.

Eat

Within the historic centre and especially around the Frauenkirche are a number of restaurants, serving many different tastes. Most of these are overpriced, and the quality is often low. On the north bank of the Elbe river is the Neustadt, which accounts for most of the trendy pubs,...