Dresden - City of Germany

Dresden is the capital city of the German Federal Free State of Saxony. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area.

Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour. The controversial bombing of Dresden in World War II by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces , plus 40 years in the Soviet bloc state of the German Democratic Republic as well as contemporary city development has changed the face of the city broadly. Considerable restoration work has settled the damage.

Although Dresden is a younger city of Slavic origin, the area had been settled in the Neolithic era by Linear Pottery culture tribes ca. 7500 BC. Dresden's founding and early growth is associated with the eastward expansion of Germanic peoples, mining in the nearby Ore Mountains, and the establishment of the Margraviate of Meissen. Dresden later evolved into the capital of Saxony.

Dresden has a cold-moderate to continental climate. The microclimate in the Elbe valley differs from that on the slopes and in the higher areas. In summer, temperatures in the city often remain at 20°C even at midnight.

The average temperature Summers are hotter in Dresden and winters are colder than the German average. The inner city temperature is 10.2°C averaged over the year. The driest months are February and March, with precipitation of 40 mm. The wettest months are July and August, with 60 mm per month.

Dresden is home to a number of renowned universities, but among German cities it is a more recent location for academic education.

The Technische Universität Dresden with almost 35,000 students was founded in 1828 and is among the oldest and largest Universities of Technology in Germany. It is currently the university of technology in Germany with the largest number of students but also has many courses in social studies, economics and other non-technical sciences.

The Technische Universität Dresden founded a Kids-University in 2004.


The Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden was founded in 1764 and is known for its former professors and artists such as George Grosz, Sascha Schneider, Otto Dix, Oskar Kokoschka, Canaletto, Carl-Gustav Carus, Caspar David Friedrich and Gerhard Richter.

Dresden has 21 Gymnasien which prepare for a tertiary education. Five are private. The "Sächsisches Landesgymnasium für Musik" with a focus on music is supported by the State of Saxony, rather than by the city. There are some Berufliche Gymnasien which combine vocational education and secondary education and a Abendgymnasium which prepares higher education of adults avocational.