We’re heading over now to the other side of Germany! This postcard was among my first Official Postcrossing cards received. It features Dresden, the capital city of the state of Saxony in eastern Germany. Like Düsseldorf, Dresden sits at the bank of a river – the Elbe River, which runs almost in the same direction as the Rhine, but on the east side of the country. Dresden is probably most known for being an immensely restored city. In its tragic past, it was heavily bombed near the end of WWII. Fortunately, much of the city was restored, particularly after the German reunification in 1990. One such landmark is the Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, which you can see in the bottom-center panel. The original church in its place was built in the 11th century as a Catholic church, which was converted to Protestant after the Reformation and rebuilt in the 18th century. It stands as an example of Protestant architecture, which mirrors the Baroque style, and for church standards, it has a pretty big dome. Another landmark of the Baroque times is Zwinger (bottom-left), which was a palace complex built in the 18th century, where court festivals were held (and to this day it holds performances in the arts). This too was razed in the war, however they were able to evacuate much of the art collection beforehand. On the bottom-right is the Semperoper, which is an opera house built – you guessed it – in the Baroque style. Unfortunately, this building was destroyed twice, with its first incident occurring only a few decades after its 1841 opening due to a fire. It saddens me to see how much of the city was destroyed, though I’m heartened by the incredible effort that was put into the restoration of everything. It’s humbling how humans are capable of something from both ends of the spectrum. But I’m not here to be a downer – thank you so much for this marvelous postcard!
