Dresden Historical Walking Tour in German with Frauenkirche Visit

Dresden Castle, the Residenzschloss

The walk begins at Dresden Castle, the residence of the electors and kings of Saxony from the late fifteenth century until the monarchy ended in 1918. Rebuilt in Renaissance style in the 1540s and given a neo-Renaissance face for the 800th anniversary of the Wettin dynasty in 1889, it burned out in February 1945 and stood roofless for decades; reconstruction began in the 1980s and continues to this day. Its Hausmannsturm tower is about 100 metres high, and the inner courtyard is decorated with sgraffito scenes in black and white.

Your guide gives a short tour at the castle, explaining the layout and the treasures inside: the Historic Green Vault with its baroque treasury rooms, the New Green Vault, the Turkish Chamber, the Armoury and the Coin Cabinet. Dresden Castle tickets are not included, but the guide tells you which collection to book and how long to allow, usually two hours for the Green Vaults alone.

Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady

From the castle it is a five-minute walk to the Frauenkirche, the baroque church completed in 1743 whose 96-metre stone dome shaped the skyline for two centuries. It collapsed two days after the bombing of February 1945, and the ruin was kept as a memorial until, after reunification, a worldwide donation campaign funded the rebuilding between 1994 and 2005. About 3,800 original stones were set back into the walls, and the gilded cross on the dome was made in Britain as a gesture of reconciliation.

This is the only Dresden walking tour on this page that takes you inside. The interior is a surprise after the stone exterior: pale pink, green and gold galleries rising in tiers, a painted dome and the baroque altar reassembled from about 2,000 fragments. The visit depends on the church's opening hours, which usually allow visitors between services on weekdays, so the guide times the stop accordingly; allow about twenty minutes.

Fürstenzug and Stallhof

Back towards the castle along Augustusstrasse, the group walks the length of the Fürstenzug, the Procession of Princes: thirty-five margraves, dukes, electors and kings of the House of Wettin on horseback, followed by scientists, artists and farmers, on a wall 102 metres long. The mural was painted in the 1870s and transferred to about 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles in 1907, which is why it survived the war almost intact. The guide picks out the rulers who matter most for the story of the city.

Through a gate you enter the Stallhof, the stable yard built between 1586 and 1591 for tournaments, with its Long Corridor of arcades, the two bronze jousting columns and the stone water troughs for the horses. It is free to enter and one of the oldest surviving tournament grounds in Europe. About fifteen minutes cover both the mural and the yard.

Taschenbergpalais

Facing the castle across the narrow Taschenberg lane stands the Taschenbergpalais, a baroque palace built between 1705 and 1708 for a favourite of the elector-king and later the residence of the Saxon crown princes. It was linked to the castle by a covered bridge so the court could pass between the two without going outside, and a second bridge connects the castle to the Hofkirche for the same reason. Burned out in 1945, the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s and now operates as a luxury hotel, but the facade and the courtyard can be admired from the lane.

The guide uses the Taschenbergpalais to tell the story of the court of Augustus the Strong, the elector who gave his name to the Augustus Bridge and Augustusstrasse, became King of Poland and turned Dresden into a baroque capital, and the lane shows how castle, palace and church form one royal complex. This stop takes around ten minutes on the way to the Zwinger.

The Zwinger, guided tour of the courtyard

The Zwinger is the building people search for first when planning a Dresden baroque tour: an open courtyard framed by pavilions, galleries and fountains, built between 1710 and 1728 by the court architect Pöppelmann with sculpture by Permoser for festivals, tournaments and an orangery. The Crown Gate carries a gilded Polish crown, the Wall Pavilion is covered with sculpted figures, the Glockenspiel Pavilion rings bells of Meissen porcelain and the Nymphenbad fountain court hides behind the ramparts. The fourth side was closed in the 1850s by the gallery that now houses the Old Masters Picture Gallery.

Your guide gives a proper guided tour of the Zwinger courtyard, about thirty minutes, explaining the symbolism of the sculptures and the court festivities held here. The courtyard is free; the museums inside, including the Porcelain Collection and the Mathematical-Physical Salon, need separate tickets and are closed on Mondays.

Theaterplatz: Hofkirche and Semperoper

The walk ends on Theaterplatz, the stately square between the Zwinger, the castle and the Elbe. On one side stands the Hofkirche, the Catholic Court Church and Cathedral of Saxony, built between 1739 and 1755 by an Italian architect for the elector-kings, with seventy-eight stone statues along its balustrade and the crypt of the Wettin rulers beneath it. On the other side rises the Semperoper, the opera house opened in 1878 after its predecessor burned, destroyed in 1945 and reopened in 1985 with its Renaissance-style facade and the bronze panther chariot on the roof.

After about two hours the guide says goodbye here; the Hofkirche is usually open to visitors free of charge, Semperoper tours are sold separately and the Augustus Bridge beside the square leads over the Elbe to the Neustadt. Restaurants and tram stops are a few minutes away.