Dresden

Germany

Appearance

File:800px-Dresden-Altstadt von der Marienbruecke-II.jpg .jpg

Dresden at Twilight

Dresden is one of the greenest cities in all of Europe, with 63% of the city being green areas and forests. The Dresdner Heide to the north is a forest 50 km2 in size. There are four nature reserves. The additional Special Conservation Areas cover 18 km2. The protected gardens, parkways, parks and old graveyards host 110 natural monuments in the city. The Dresden Elbe Valley is a former world heritage site which is focused on the conservation of the cultural landscape in Dresden. One important part of that landscape is the Elbe meadows, which cross the city in a 20 kilometre swath. Saxon Switzerland is an important nearby location.

Dresden is a spacious city. Its districts differ in their structure and appearance. Many parts still contain an old village core, while some quarters are almost completely preserved as rural settings. Other characteristic kinds of urban areas are the historic outskirts of the city, and the former suburbs with scattered housing. During the German Democratic Republic, many apartment blocks were built. The original parts of the city are almost all in the districts of Altstadt (Old town) and Neustadt (New town). Growing outside the city walls, the historic outskirts were built in the 18th century. They were planned and constructed on the orders of the Saxon monarchs, which is why the outskirts are often named after sovereigns. From the 19th century the city grew by incorporating other districts. Dresden has been divided into ten districts called "Ortsamtsbereich" and nine former boroughs ("Ortschaften") which have been incorporated.

Climate

Dresden has a cold-moderate to continental climate, with hotter summers and colder winters than the German average. The average temperature in February is −1.7 °C (28.94 °F) and in July 18.1 °C (64.6 °F). The inner city temperature is 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) averaged over the year. The driest months are February and March, with precipitation of 40 mm (1.6 in). The wettest months are July and August, with 61 mm (2.4 in) per month.

The microclimate in the Elbe valley differs from that on the slopes and in the higher areas. Klotzsche, at 227 metres above sea level, hosts the Dresden weather station. The weather in Klotzsche is 1 to 1 to 3 °C (1.8 to 5.4 °F) colder than in the inner city.

Economy

In 1990 Dresden—an important industrial centre of the German Democratic Republic—had to struggle with the economic collapse of the Soviet Union and the other export markets in Eastern Europe. The German Democratic Republic had been the richest eastern bloc country but was faced with competition from the Federal Republic of Germany after reunification. After 1990 a completely new law and currency system was introduced in the wake of the collapse of the German Democratic Republic and eastern Germany's infrastructure was largely rebuilt with funds from the Federal Republic of Germany. Dresden as a major urban centre has developed much faster and more consistently than most other regions in the former German Democratic Republic, but the city still faces many social and economic problems stemming from the collapse of the former system, including high unemployment levels.

Until famous enterprises like Dresdner Bank left Dresden in the communist era to avoid nationalisation, Dresden was one of the most important German cities. The period of the GDR until 1990 was characterised by low economic growth in comparison to western German cities. The enterprises and production sites broke down almost completely as they entered the social market economy. Since then the economy of Dresden has been recovering.

The unemployment rate fluctuated between 13% and 15% within the first 20 years after Germany's unification and is still relatively high. Nevertheless, Dresden has developed faster than the average for Eastern Germany and has raised its GDP per capita to 31,100 euro, equal to the GDP per capita of some poor West German communities (the average of the 50 biggest cities is around 35,000 euro).

Thanks to the presence of public administration centers, a high density of semi-public research institutes which settle freely within Germany and a successful extension of high technology sectors through the help of public funding, the proportion of highly qualified workers is again among the highest in Germany and also in Europe-wide criteria, though - as all eastern towns in Germany - Dresden has a traditional shortage of corporate headquarters. Dresden is regularly ranked among the best ten bigger cities in Germany to live in. In May 2012 the unemployment rate reached a new low of 8.9%.

The current economy of Dresden is based on three distinct and primary industries: engineering, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductor production. Tourism is another distinct portion of the economy enjoying high revenue and many employees (There are something like hundred bigger hotels in Dresden with many of them in the upscale range).

The pharmaceutical industry saw its foundation develop at end of the 19th century. The Sächsisches Serumwerk Dresden (Saxon Serum Plant, Dresden), owned by GlaxoSmithKline, is a world leader in vaccine production. Another traditional pharmaceuticals producer is Arzneimittelwerke Dresden (Pharmaceutical Works, Dresden).

The semiconductor industry was built up in 1969. Major enterprises today are AMD's spin-off GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Infineon Technologies, ZMD and Toppan Photomasks. Their factories attract many suppliers of material and cleanroom technology enterprises to Dresden.

A third traditional branch is that of mechanical and electrical engineering. Major employers are the Volkswagen Transparent Factory, EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke (Elbe Aircraft Works), Siemens and Linde-KCA-Dresden.

Location

Dresden lies on both banks of the river Elbe, mostly in the Dresden Basin, with the further reaches of the eastern Ore Mountains to the south, the steep slope of the Lusatian granitic crust to the north, and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to the east at an altitude of about 113 metres (371 feet). Triebenberg is the highest point in Dresden at 384 metres (1,260 feet).

With a pleasant location and a mild climate on the Elbe, as well as Baroque-style architecture and numerous world-renowned museums and art collections, Dresden has been called "Elbflorenz" (Florence of the Elbe). The incorporation of neighbouring rural communities over the past 60 years has made Dresden the fourth largest urban district by area in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne.

The nearest German cities are Chemnitz 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the southwest, Leipzig 100 kilometres (62 miles) to the northwest and Berlin 200 kilometres (120 miles) to the north. Prague, Czech Republic is about 150 kilometres (93 miles) to the south and to the east 200 kilometres (120 miles) is Polish city of Wrocław.

Panorama

File:Dresden-nightpanorama-dri.jpg

Dresden by Night

Population

• City (780,561) - 2012 census
• Metro Area (1,143,197) - 2012 census

The population of Dresden reached 100,000 inhabitants in 1852, making it the third German city to reach that number. The population peaked at 649,252 in 1933, but dropped to 450,000 in 1946 as the result of World War II, during which large residential areas of the city were destroyed. After large incorporations and city restoration, the population grew to 522,532 again between 1950 and 1983.

Since German reunification, demographic development has been very unsteady. The city has had to struggle with migration and suburbanization. The population increased to 480,000 as a consequence of several incorporations during the 1990s, but it fell to 452,827 in 1998. Between 2000 and 2010, the population grew quickly by more than 45,000 inhabitants (about 9.5%) due to a stabilized economy and reurbanization. Along with Munich and Potsdam, Dresden is one of the ten fastest-growing cities in Germany, while the population of the surrounding new federal states is still shrinking. The population of the city of Dresden is 523,058 (2010), the population of the Dresden agglomeration is 780,561 (2008), and the population of Region Dresden (which includes the neighbouring districts of Meißen, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge and the western part of the district of Bautzen) is 1,143,197 (2007). Today Dresden is one of the few German Cities which have more inhabitants than ever since World War II.

Attractions

Fürstenzug of Dresden - The "Procession of Princes" is a 102 meter (335 foot) ceramic mural depicting the ancestral portraits of the 35 margraves, electors, dukes and kings of the House of Wettin between 1127 and 1904.

Castles

Dresdner Residenzschloss - Dresden Castle was the home of the Electors and Kings of Saxony for over 400 years until its destruction during W.W.II. It was recently restored to its full grandeur.

Moritzburg Castle - Hunting lodge of the electors and kings of Saxony.

Pillnitz Castle – Summer residence of the electors and kings of Saxony.

City Government

Sächsische Staatskanzlei - "Saxon State Chancellery or Saxon State Chamber"

The Mayor of Dresden

Churches

Dresden Frauenkirche - "The Church of Our Lady" is a Lutheran church in central Dresden and an intrinsic part of the city skyline.

Katholische Hofkirche - "The Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony"

Citizens of the City

Gernot Maas: German forklift operator, husband & father of four. <deceased> - Drained to death by Yan Syrkov during an unexpected frenzy.

Fabiola Garver: German student, laborer and artist. <Critical Condition> - Drained nearly to death by Yan Syrkov during an unexpected frenzy.

Detektiv Lutz Metz: German Polizei officer in charge of missing persons.

Galleries

Landhaus of Dresden - The Landhaus is a historic building in Dresden, eastern Germany. Designed to house the Saxony region's Landstand, it was built in the Baroque style between 1770 and 1776 by Friedrich August Krubsacius on the site of the former Palais Flemming-Sulkowski. It now houses the Dresden City Museum and the Dresden City Art Gallery.

Museums

Zwinger Palace

Theatres

Semperoper - The Opera House for the Saxon State Orchestra of Dresden.

Vampires of the City (7)

Zelenka Brujah

Vladan Kladivo - The New Prince of Dresden - The Prince is dead, long live the Prince.

Dalibor Biskup - The New Seneschal of Dresden - Uneasy is the head that wears the crown.

Clan Malkavian

Gitta Wörnhör - The Reluctant Transplant.

Clan Nosferatu

Bartolomej - The Lonely Leper.

Clan Toreador

Mareike Kneller - Paramour of Dalibor Biskup.

Clan Tremere

Ottomar Specht - Regent Appointee to Dresden.

Clan Ventrue

Kreszentia Suse Brandt - Business associate of the new prince.

Vampires of Dresden in Exile

Sara Zuraw - A Polish girl embraced at the zenith of her beauty, but like a spoiled child she expects all of Dresden to be her domain.

Deceased vampires of Dresden

Oliver Zelenka - Prince of Dresden (Deceased - Diablerie - Countess Klara Wehunt)

Dresden Based Stories

Story 33 - The Jewel Box