Zwinger Palace in Dresden

The Zwinger Palace is located in the city of Dresden, Germany and is also an element of Dresden fort. The word “Zwinger” means the outer block of a multiple castle. The palace is connected to the Dresden fort by two huge walls at the center.

Zwinger Palace was constructed by Louis XIV, who thought of constructing the palace during the period of his election as the Poland King in the year 1697, when he noticed that there was no free space in the Dresden fort.

In the year 1710, the palace was designed by Matthaus Daniel Poppelmann, the Dresden fort architect. The palace was constructed in several stages from 1710 to 1728 and the sculptural aspect of it was done by Balthasar Permoser. The Zwinger Palace was finally opened in 1719 for the marriage ceremony of Prince Frederick Augustus. Later, the galleries and interiors were added in 1728, which served as a library, halls and exhibition galleries.

After the death of Frederick Augustus, in the year 1733, the construction was halted because of the lack of money. In the year 1945, the building was severely damaged due to the bombings and the collections in the galleries were evacuated. After some years of repair, the building would be completed.

The Zwinger Palace contains a museum inside where Dresden’s culture and  some paintings of Raphael, Canaletto and Rubens can be viewed. The museum also contains somes collections of scientific treasures and fine arts and additionally, it holds an arms and weapons collection dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Zwinger Palace in Dresden