City Backgrounds

The City of Dresden, capital of the German state of Saxony, sits on the Elbe River in eastern Germany. Dresden's built environment reflects the major periods and cataclysmic events of its history, including the physical imprints of different government systems. The city map shows the street pattern of a long-established European city, with a road system that was not designed for automobile traffic or parking. One also can see that 40% of Dresden's area is devoted to forest and that the flood plain of the Elbe is largely undeveloped park land. The Elbe is a major feature of the city and the location of bridges a critical factor in transportation flows.

What one cannot see on the map, however, are the beautiful buildings, statuary, art work, and streetscape in much of the city attributed to the 17th century ruler, Augustus the Strong. Many views of the city have been painted, but the best known are probably those by Canaletto. The magnificent center of Dresden was known worldwide.

Unfortunately that reputation probably contributed to the Allies' choice of Dresden for the bombing of Feb. 13, 1945. The fire bombing inflicted on the city that night left almost nothing standing and most of the remainders were bulldozed for safety. Immediately following the war, Dresden became part of the German Democratic Republic (the GDR or East Germany) which created an anti-war monument from the remains of the Frauenkirche...the Church of Our Lady.

The GDR began recreating the old heart of Dresden exactly as it had been. The street pattern remains the same. Archaeologists conducted digs at the sites, and old materials were reused when possible. New materials were of the same type and used the same techniques as the originals. Many buildings have been reconstructed from the rubble including the Zwinger the Hofkirche, the Opera House, and others. The current project is the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche. The current views of downtown Dresden hark back to the art of Canaletto with the addition of construction cranes.

The GDR also constructed buildings in styles that have become associated with socialist governments. Sometimes these buildings were massive but fit reasonably well with their sites. Housing was a special problem because so little rehabilitation was done on the housing stock in the city. The government attempted to alleviate the housing shortage by building projects like Gorbitz on the city's edge. To an American, Gorbitz looks like the worst excesses of our public housing program. In fact, people were eager to move into the monolithic blocks of buildings because they were up-to-date and available. The result was a social mix that helped the buildings to function as communities.

Since unification in 1989, the rebuilding at the center has continued. Many old industrial concerns have closed because they were not able to compete in a market economy. Old industrial sites are a major problem in Dresden. The buildings often date from the industrial revolution; the infrastructure is not current; there are probably environmental hazards at the sites; the locations are suited to older industrial needs not today's; and some of the sites are protected by historical preservation designation. Unemployment also is a problem in spite of the city's recent success in attracting two major international high technology firms.

Since unification, Dresden has begun to see suburban development as well. On first impression this development does not look very similar to American suburbanization. It is more compact, has a higher percentage of rental units, and is much better served (as is the whole city) by public transportation. The architectural style usually fits well with the older communities nearby and the edge is very clear and right up against farm fields. On the other hand, the residents tend to be better off people who have some choice in where they live. People with more resources move from the older apartments and Gorbitz-style developments. This increases the concentration of lower income people in some of those older areas. In the US similar trends have increased segregation by income, race, and social class. Whether they will have a similar, significant effect in Dresden is an open question.