An afternoon in Dresden's old town

The Scoundrel, exhausted from months of world travel, stayed in the hostel while the Liar and I joined a group of Australians in exploring Dresden's old town.

Heading towards the Elbe, the statue of Augustus the Strong is pretty difficult to miss.  Augustus was responsible for putting Dresden on the map, turning it into a center of culture and art.

Crossing the Elbe at this point gives a wonderful view of the old town.  Most of this area was bombed flat in World War II.  Between 13 and 15 February in 1945 thousands of kilograms of bombs and high-explosives were dropped on the city, killing upwards of 25,000 people.  Though Dresden housed an enormous military complex, it was never targeted during the bombing.

The bombing of Dresden is the focal event in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, and this was the only reason we knew where Dresden was, or what it's history had been.

This all made for some pretty moody introspection when viewing the old city, which has been lovingly rebuilt and restored.  Luckily, this  guy drove past and lifted our moods instantly.

I have a handful of photos of a man named "Freidrich August vom Gerechten," about whom I can find absolutely no information whatsoever.

Dresden is adorned with Saxon statues, many of which were taken down by the Nazis and preserved from the bombing.  This is quite obvious, as the statues are often a different colour and show signs of wear which the restored buildings do not.

The palace courtyard was spacious, beautiful and quite impressive despite the dreary weather.

The old town is still very much under construction, and shows no sign of being completed soon.  Almost nothing remained of this part of the city after the bombings of WWII, and it is amazing to see these incredible buildings being restored.

We spent an hour or so in Augustus the Strong's armoury, but we weren't permitted to take photos.  They had a very impressive collection of firearms, with pistols and rifles from the 15th and 16th centuries.  Also on display were a number of formal, tournament and field harnesses and swords which ranged from rapiers and sabers to ceremonial two-handers.

Outside the palace entrance stands a mighty... someone.  I thought I took a photo of the attribution but I didn't.  The Dresden post needs some reader contribution - if anyone knows about these two men, please tell us.  You'll be making the world a smarter place.