Dresden

Back to my trip to Germany a few weeks ago...

After thoroughly enjoying my time in Berlin, I journeyed south to spend a day in Dresden. Many will recognize Dresden as the site of a major US and British bombing campaign at the end of WWII. This infamous attack used extensive firepower, including incendiary bombs, to completely reduce the German city to rubble. The raid is extremely contentious due to the massive number of civilian casualties and extreme destruction to non-military targets.

As a result, the city was forced to rebuild itself in recent decades. Primary monuments throughout the city that were destroyed have been rebuilt, and the surrounding urban fabric has been completely reconstructed as it was 60 years ago. In the images below you can see the central cathedral of Dresden with black stone interspersed throughout the building. Those dark stone are the pieces of the original cathedral that survived the bombing campaign. In addition, you can see the brightly painted buildings and the cobble stone square which complete the romanticism of an old European square.

But as I walked around the square I realized something felt like it was missing from the experience. The buildings were beautiful and the cathedral was impressive, but all feeling of local character - personal and architectural - were absent. The square was flooded with tourists taking group photographs in front of the rebuilt cathedral and along the row of bright paint colors, but I didn't see a single person that looked local, which was further emphasized by the large amount of gift shops, hotels, and English language restaurants that surround the square.

My suspicion is the managers of the rebuilding process in Dresden intended to focus the effort exclusively on economic regeneration through tourism and commercial activity. Although economic activity is essential to the continued revival efforts in the city, reconstructing a bright and shiny town center for tourism ignores the character and depth that a local population provides to successful public space which would undoubtedly provide more sustainable economic activity in the area for long term growth and prosperity. 

Now don't get me wrong, Dresden is a beautiful place to visit, and many of the more historic structures in the city are very impressive architecturally. The city is very pedestrian and bicycle friendly and is rich in arts and culture with the Semper Opera House (above) and one of the best art galleries in the country.

The sculpture is photogenic as well.