Every design for Dresden

Dresden lies in the valley of the Elbe, with the hills of Lusatia rising to the east and the foothills of the Ore Mountains to the west, and most of its people live close to the river. The capital of Saxony is a place where everyday life happens against an unlikely backdrop of baroque domes and palaces.

For many, the city is tied to one feeling: standing on the Brühlsche Terrasse at the end of a summer day, watching the river turn gold. Others remember their first visit to the Frauenkirche after it was rebuilt, or the bustle of the Striezelmarkt, one of the oldest Christmas markets anywhere. The Zwinger and the Residenzschloss Dresden recall the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who filled the city with so much art that it was called the Jewel Box,, and the Yenidze and the Goldener Reiter are landmarks no local needs explained. After the bombing at the end of the war destroyed the entire centre, much of it was patiently pieced back together.

The Frauenkirche, risen again from its ruins, is the building people here point to when they want to explain who they are. It makes sense to want it close.