Dresden Castle or Royal Palace (Residenzschloss)
First mentioned in documents in 1216, Dresden became the capital of the Electorate of Saxony in 1547. In the 13th century, the present site of the Residenzschloss, which was used as a residence of the ruler of Saxony, was a fortress with five towers. The reconstruction that took place in 1468–1480 turned the fortress into a late Gothic building.
The Palace was rebuilt in the Renaissance style and expanded under Maurice, Elector of Saxony (Moritz von Sachsen; 1521–1553). The brothers Gabriele and Benedetto Tola from Italy decorated the facades in the sgraffito technique and covered the interior walls and ceilings with frescoes. In 1585–1591, the rectangular building of the palace was surrounded by a large compound of buildings. An extensive gallery of portraits of the Electors of Saxony was created by German court artist Heinrich Göding in the so called Long Corridor (Langer Gang).
A staircase known as the “English Staircase” was built by architect Johann Georg Starcke on the occasion of awarding the Order of the Garter (the most senior order of knighthood in Great Britain) to John George IV, Elector of Saxony in 1693. Destroyed in a ruinous fire, it was soon restored and became the main staircase in the palace, leading to the new state apartments on the third floor. These were decorated in a particularly sophisticated manner before the wedding of the Crown Prince Frederick Augustus and the Emperor’s daughter Maria Josepha of Austria in 1718–1719.
In the period of the diplomatic mission of Peter I to Europe known as the “Grand Embassy”, the Tsar spent a few days in Dresden on his way from Leipzig to Vienna. He arrived in Dresden on June 1/11, 1698, in the evening. The Tsar was invited to stay in the Electors’ residence on the third floor, in the rooms of Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach (Eleonore Erdmuthe Luise von Sachsen-Eisenach; 1662–1696), the recently deceased widow of Elector John George IV (1668—1694). On the same day, Peter received Anton Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (Anton Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg), who served as governor of the Electorate of Saxony when Elector Frederick Augustus the Strong was King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1697–1716). Despite late hours, after the dinner, the Tsar wanted to see the Kunstkammer and stayed there into the morning, paying particular attention to mathematical instruments and handicraft tools.
The next morning, the Prince of Fürstenberg paid another visit to the Tsar and the two dined together to music. After the lunch, Peter watched the military exercises of cadets from the window. Then Peter went to the arsenal (the Albertinum), where he astounded everybody with his knowledge of artillery science. In the evening, there was a dinner and dancing after which the Tsar went to Königstein in a carriage with a bed.
The Tsar visited Dresden three more times. He stayed in the capital of Saxony in 1711 from September 9/20 to 11/22 when traveling to the spa resort in Carlsbad and from October 7/18 to 12/23 on his way back. His final visit to Dresden was from November 6/17 to 14/25, 1712, when he was traveling from Carlsbad. During these visits, Peter avoided staying at the residence of Saxon rulers and instead stayed in the “Zum Golden Ring” hotel downtown and at goldsmith Johann Melchior Dinglinger’s house.
During a major reconstruction project in 1894–1896, the exterior façades of the Residenzschloss were rebuilt in the Neo-Renaissance style and the English Staircase gained a Neo-Baroque appearance.
During the World War II, a bombing on February 13, 1945 burned the building almost to the ground. What survived was the so called Green Vault, the treasure collection of the rulers of Saxony designed to serve as a public museum which was opened in 1729.
Soon after the reunification of Germany in 1990, the Palace began to be reconstructed using the remaining parts of the building. Today it houses the Dresden State Art Collections with modern depositories, laboratories and restoration workshops, as well as the Art Library, the Numismatic Cabinet, the Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, the New and Historic Green Vault, and rooms of the Armory. The Turkish Chamber featuring the oriental collection of the Armory was opened in 2009. It can also be accessed via the English Staircase reconstructed in 2010. The small palace courtyard covered with a dome structure in October 2008 serves as a central lobby for all of the museums housed in the Palace.
