Frommer's Review
Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony (also king of Poland), built this baroque masterpiece, modeled after Versailles, in 1719. Here he staged tournaments and kept dozens of concubines. His physique was called Herculean, his temperament Rabelaisian, but he also had a great love for the arts. Today, this artfully symmetrical complex of buildings holds a collection of museums. The damage caused by the British air raid in 1945 was so devastating that some locals feared the Zwinger would remain a ruin forever. However, it's been restored and it's back in business, welcoming new generations of art lovers.
M. D. Pöppelmann (1662-1736) initially conceived the Zwinger as the forecourt of the castle. In the center of the large quadrangle are formal gardens, fountains, and promenades, forming a deep curving bay enclosed by pavilions. Notable are the Wallpavilion in the center of the semicircular arched gallery in the west end and the Nyphenbad (Bath of Nymphs) [STST] with its graceful fountains and mythological figures by Balthasar Permoser, who helped Pöppelmann in the construction of the Zwinger. On the northeast side is a Renaissance-style building, added in 1846 by Gottfried Semper (1803-79). Semper's two-story pavilions are linked by one-story galleries. The architectural critic Sir Nikolaus Pevsner once wrote: "What exultation in these rocking curves, and yet what grace! It is joyful but never vulgar; vigorous, boisterous perhaps, but never crude."
The most important museum in the complex is the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister [STSTST], which has its entrance at Theaterplatz 1. This gallery, one of the best on the Continent, has as its showpiece Raphael's Sistine Madonna. You'll also find Giorgione's Sleeping Venus, Antonello da Messina's The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, Titian's Tribute Money, and many famous works by Veronese, Tintoretto, Correggio, and Annibale Carracci. You'll also see Flemish, Dutch, and German paintings by Van Dyck, Vermeer, Dürer, and Rembrandt, among others. The Rubens collection includes his spectacular Neptune, full of rearing horses, and an exquisite St. Jerome. Admission is 6€ ($7.80) adults, 3.50€ ($4.55) children.
Rüstkammer (Armory) displays a vast collection of weaponry from the 15th to 18th centuries, including halberds, shields, cannons, and suits of armor for both men and horses. The Porzellansammlung displays the finery produced by the porcelain factories of Dresden during the 350 years since their founding. Admission is 6€ ($7.80) adults, 3.50€ ($4.55) children under 14.
The Zwinger also houses the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, a world-famous collection of historical timepieces and scientific instruments, slated to reopen in 2009. Terrestrial and celestial globes are on view alongside optical, astronomical, and geodetic devices of the 16th to the 19th centuries, and the fascinating compendium also includes instruments for calculating and drawing as well as determining length, dimensions, temperature, and air pressure. Admission to the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon costs 3€ ($3.90) adults, 2€ ($2.60) children.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
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