Brühl's Terrace
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Brühl's Terrace in Dresden, north of the recently rebuilt Neumarkt Square is one of the favourite inner-city places of both locals and tourists for walking, people-watching, and having a coffee.
It is nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe" and situated on the river Elbe in a city which is rather large as measured by area relative to its half a million inhabitants. Most people enter the terrace from the Schlossplatz (or Castle square) on the terrace´s west end. Besides Saxony's Supreme Court a staircase with four sculptures (The Four Seasons) leads from the Schlossplatz (or Castle Square) up to Brühl's Terrace. One of the next buildings to the right is the Academy of Fine Arts. There is an ensemble of important buildings, such as the Albertinum.
History and character of the place
The name Brühl´s Terrace is a reference to Heinrich Graf von Brühl, who built a palais in 1737 on the location. Till 1747 the whole today´s terrace was given to him from the Saxon elector as gift for the innovative introduction of the betterment tax.The name The balcony of Europe was formed and more often used for the first time in the beginning of the 19th century and since those times it was used rather often in all kinds of literature.
The ensemble was rather totally destroyed in february of 1945 when especially the city center was heavily hit by Allied Air Strikes during the end phase of world war II . Today, it is rebuilt. It´s hard to say or express how completely as measured by a percentage rate, but in general one can say the emsemble looks very the same today. Regarding the whole city center, most times it is true to say it´s more rebuilt than for example most US tourists expect it to be and sometimes less than domestic tourists from farther German regions expect. To make a relevant excursus, this is because Dresden still is mainly known for the Allied bombing in world war two on other continents, but in Germany it´s more described as the boom city in the east. Today, Bruehl´s terrace is again doubtless one of the main town landmarks besides the Frauenkirche, church of our women, buildings on the theater square as Zwinger and Semperoper and the Blue Wonder bridge which is all rather in the near with the exception of the Blue Wonder.
Today, on the Bärenzwinger students club near the monument for Johann Friedrich Böttger, who is often said to be the inventor of the European porcelain, despite this honour belongs to Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus who died poor in Dresden, one can see a fingermark in a guardrail of the terrace garden. This dactylogram is said to be an evidence for the strength of August the Strong, but this is as true as the fact that he was father 365 times.
Architectural parts of the terrace
- Sächsisches Ständehaus from Paul Wallot
- Rietschelmonument from Johannes Schilling
- Sekundogenitur
- Academy of Fine Arts
- Semperdenkmal, monument for Gottfried Semper from Johannes Schilling
- Jungfernbastei (Belvederehügel)
- Moritzmonument
- Bärenzwinger basement vault
- Hofgärtnerhaus
- Albertinum
- Delphinbrunnen
- Monument for Johann Friedrich Böttger
- rise group of the "four times of the day" from Johannes Schilling
The balcony of Dresden
This buzz phrase is not relevant for Brühl´s Terrace in the old town. It´s more regionally used for a tower six kilometers more to the eastern direction on an Elbe slope hill within an area which was known for expensive living. See Loschwitz.
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