Dresden Germany

Zwinger Palace – If you do not want to miss out the arts on your Germany vacation, the Zwinger Palace in Dresden is the place to go. The Saxonian king August the Strong delegated his architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann to build a baroque masterpiece in 1707.

The outcome was an impressive building serving as an adequate home for the king and his family. The result surpassed all expectations and is known today as the Zwinger Palace.

Around a courtyard with water garden and trick fountains the four buildings of the palace are arranged rectangular. The palace was not entirely closed until Gottfried Semper completed the ensemble with a gallery building in 1855. There, you can visit the "Old Master's Picture Gallery" which contains over 700 great paintings from Renaissance to Baroque of German artists and artists from other European countries as well.

All these works of art have been collected by the Saxonian Kings in the 18th century. The most famous piece of art in the gallery is the Sistine Madonna by the Italian artist Raphael. Among many others also works from Rembrandt, Giuseppe Ribera and Albrecht Dürer can be viewed here.