The museums of Dresden

Pinacotheca "Alte Meister"

The international reputation of the Pinacotheca "Alte Meister - Old Masters" in Dresden is the result of the committed collecting activity of the Saxon electorate, with an outstanding collection devoted to German and European painting and sculpture up to 1800. You will find masterpieces by Lucas Cranach, Albrecht Dürer, Raphael, Giorgione and Tizian.

Around Raphael's "Sistine Madonna", one of the most popular works of art in the world, visitors can expect a unique journey through European art history, which cannot be retraced in any other German museum as impressively and comprehensively as in Dresden. The museum has been renovated in recent years and welcomes you with a museography that combines the heritage of the place with modern presentation. Photo: © SKD, Oliver Killig

The Historic and New Green Vault

The "Green Vault" (Grüne Gewölbe) is the rich collection of objects of all origins acquired over the centuries by the princes and kings of Saxony. Formerly stored under a green vault "The Treasure Room of the House of Wettin", the collection was exhibited from 1729 onwards in nine rooms specially fitted out in the Residence Castle by Agustus the Strong. The objects on display are absolutely impressive and for many unique in the world. Gold, rock crystal and diamonds sparkle in this treasure.

Today, the Green Vault combines the old and the new: while the historic Green Vault allows visitors to immerse themselves in the authentically restored rooms of the Treasury, the New Green Vault shows the individual rooms in the best possible conditions.

Pillnitz Castle

Heading east along the Elbe towards Saxon Switzerland, visit the summer castle of the House of Wettin. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe, the castle is a magnificent example of the style of the 18th century Chinoiserie.

The museum: 60,000 objects are in the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Dresden. A collection that allows the history of design over five centuries to be read: pieces from the Middle Ages to the present day, from Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, but also from Asia and South America are collected here. The spectrum ranges from furniture and textiles, to musical instruments, containers, clocks and dials.

Museum of Hygiene and Health

A FORUM FOR SCIENCE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY
The Deutsches Hygiene-Museum sees itself as a public forum for current issues arising from the cultural, political and scientific upheavals of our society at the beginning of the 21st century. In addition to the exhibition programme, the museum hosts numerous events with prominent participants, such as lectures, discussions, readings and symposia. In its popular special exhibitions, the museum addresses themes of culture and society, science and art. Photo: © DHMD / Oliver Killig

Military Museum

The former arsenal building from the 19th century was converted from an arsenal to a museum very early on. As early as 1897, the building first housed the collection of the Royal Arsenal and later the Royal Museum of the Saxon Army. In 2011 the museum was reopened after a complete renovation by the American architect Daniel Libeskind. Cutting through the old Arsenal building, the new wedge-shaped building with its light and shadow structures referred to the turbulent German military history. At the same time, the "Libeskind Wedge" thematically resumed the bombing of Dresden on 13 February 1945.

With its collection of more than 1.6 million objects - from field postcards to tank howitzers - the Bundeswehr Military History Museum (MHM) in Dresden is one of the largest military history museums in Europe and one of the four largest history museums in Germany. Photo: © MHM/Hufton

Albertinum

Since its reopening in 2010 in the imposing historic building, visitors can expect to see some of the great names in Romanticism and Contemporary Art in the 5,650 m2 space. For painting from the early 19th century to the present day, the gallery is one of the most comprehensive museums in Germany. Of the 3,000 works in the collection, more than 300 are on display to the public. Especially for works by the German Romantics and Realists, Dresden is one of the most important addresses in the world.

From Caspar David Friedrich to Gerhard Richter: in the Albertinum, masterpieces from the collections of the Galerie Neue Meister and the Skulpturensammlung from 1800 onwards, from Romanticism, Impressionism, Expressionism, New Objectivity and the contemporary period can be contemplated in a single visit. Photo: © SKD, Foto: HC KRASS