Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [137]
DISCOUNT CARDS
Dresden City-Card (per 48hr €21) Provides admission to museums, discounted city tours and boats, and free public transport. Buy it at the tourist office.
Dresden Regio-Card (per 72hr €32) Everything offered by the City-Card plus free transport on the entire regional transport network. Valid as far as the Czech border and Meissen.
EMERGENCY
Ambulance ( 112/19222)
Police ( 110)
INTERNET ACCESS
K&E Callshop (Wiener Passage; per hr €2; 10am-9pm) In the subterranean passageway outside the Hauptbahnhof.
Telecafé (Böhmische Strasse 3; per hr €2; 10am-midnight)
LAUNDRY
Crazy Waschsalon (Louisenstrasse 6; 7am-11pm Mon-Sat)
Eco-Express (Königsbrücker Strasse 2; wash/dry €1.90/0.50; 6am-11pm) There’s also a branch at Rudolf-Leonhard-Strasse 16.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Krankenhaus Dresden-Friedrichstadt ( 4800; Friedrichstrasse 41)
Krankenhaus Dresden-Neustadt ( 8560; Industrie-strasse 40) Tram 4 to Am Trachauer Bahnhof.
MONEY
Banks and ATMs abound throughout the Altstadt, especially along Prager Strasse.
ReiseBank (Hauptbahnhof; 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm Sat, 10am-6pm Sun)
POST
Post Office Altmarkt-Galerie (Altmarkt-Galerie) Enter from Wallstrasse.
Post Office Neustadt (Königsbrücker Strasse 21)
TOURIST INFORMATION
Besucherdienst Semperoper ( 4911 705; Schinkelwache, Theaterplatz 2; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun) Opera tickets and tours.
Tourist office ( 5016 0160; www.dresden-tourist.de; Kulturpalast, Schlossstrasse; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun) Also houses the central ticket office.
TRAVEL AGENCY
Neue Reisewelle ( 829 720; Alaunstrasse 87) Agents for STA Travel.
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Sights
FRAUENKIRCHE
The domed Frauenkirche ( visitor centre 6560 6100, tickets 6560 6701; www.frauenkirche-dresden.de; admission free; 10am-noon & 1-6pm Mon-Fri, limited hr on weekends), which is one of Dresden’s most beloved symbols, has literally risen from the ashes of the city. The original, designed by Georg Bähr, graced Dresden’s skyline for two centuries before collapsing two days after the February 1945 bombing. The GDR left the rubble there as a war memorial, but after reunification a grass-roots movement to rebuild the landmark gained momentum. It was consecrated in November 2005, a year ahead of schedule.
A spitting image of the original, it may not bear the gravitas of age but that only slightly detracts from its festive beauty inside and out. The altar, reassembled from nearly 2000 fragments, is especially striking. The lofty interior, galleried like a theatre, is a wonderful place for concerts, meditations and services, though at other times it’s overrun with nattering tourists. Check the website for the current schedule or stop by the Frauenkirche Visitors Centre ( 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat) in the Kulturpalast.
Most are satisfied to take a pew to admire and contemplate this remarkable resurrection, but you can also hire an audioguide (€2.50), and climb up to the copula (adult/concession/family €8/5/20; Mar-Oct) for sweeping city views.
RESIDENZSCHLOSS
Home of Saxon kings until 1918, the highlight of the neo-Renaissance Residenzschloss is the must-see Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault), returned to the palace after postwar reconstruction had been completed. Picture it as the real-life equivalent of Aladdin’s Cave, a mind-boggling collection of precious objects wrought from gold, ivory, silver, diamonds and other materials. There’s so much of it, two separate ‘treasure chambers’, both in the palace west wing (enter from Sophienstrasse), are needed to display everything.
The Neues Grünes Gewölbe (New Green Vault; 4914 2000; adult/concession incl audioguide €6/3.50; 10am-6pm Wed-Mon) presents some 1000 objects in 10 modern rooms on the upper floor. Among the most prized items are a frigate fashioned from ivory with wafer-thin sails, a cherry pit with 185 faces carved into it, and an exotic ensemble of 132 gem-studded figurines representing a royal court in India. The artistry of each