00:00The Zwinger, German. Dresdner Zwinger, is a palatial complex with gardens in Dresden,
00:15Germany. Designed by architect Matthias Daniel Poppelmann. It is one of the most important
00:20buildings of the Baroque period in Germany. Along with the Frauenkirche, the Zwinger is
00:25the most famous architectural monument of Dresden. The name, Zwinger, goes back to the
00:30name used in the Middle Ages for a fortress part between the outer and inner fortress
00:35walls. Even though the Zwinger no longer had a function corresponding to the name at the
00:39start of construction. The Zwinger was built in 1709 as an orangery and garden as well
00:45as a representative festival area. Its richly decorated pavilions and the galleries lined
00:50with balustrades. Figures and vases testify to the splendor during the reign of Augustus
00:56the Strong, Elector of Saxony and elected King of Poland. In the original conception
01:01of the Elector, the Zwinger was the forecourt of a new castle that would take up the area
01:06between it and the Elbe. Therefore, the Zwinger remained undeveloped on the Elbe side, provisionally
01:11closed with a wall. The plans for a new castle were abandoned after the death of Augustus
01:16the Strong, and with the departure from the Baroque period, the Zwinger initially lost
01:21importance. It was only over a century later that the architect Gottfried Semper completed
01:26it with the Semper Gallery towards the Elbe. The Semper Gallery, opened in 1855, was one
01:32of the most important German museum projects of the 19th century and made it possible to
01:37expand the use of the Zwinger as a museum complex, which had grown under the influence
01:42of time since the 18th century. The bombing of Dresden on February 13 and 14, 1945 hit
01:49the Zwinger extensively and led to extensive destruction. Since the reconstruction in the
01:551950s and 1960s, the Gemäldegalerie Altmeister, Old Master's Picture Gallery, the Dresden
02:01Porcelain Collection, Dresdener Porzellansammlung, and the Mathematische Physikalische Salon
02:07Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments, have opened to the public.
02:12The original intended use is an orangery. Gardenen as a representative festival area
02:17has taken a back seat, the latter continues to be cultivated with the performance of music
02:22and theatre events. The Zwinger covers an area on the northwestern edge of the Innere
02:27Altstadt, Inner Old Town, that is part of the historic heart of Dresden. It is located
02:32near other famous sites, including Dresden Castle and the Semperoper. The Zwinger is
02:38bounded by Sofienstrasse in the southeast, Postplatz in the south, Austria-Allee in the
02:43southwest, the Ammswingertheik road in the northwest, and Theater Square, Theaterplatz,
02:49in the east. Nearby buildings include the Dresden State Theater to the southwest, the
02:54Haus am Zwinger to the south, the Taschenberg Palais Hotel to the southeast. The west wing
02:59of the palace with its green vault to the east, the Altstadtisch Hauptwache to the northeast,
03:04the Semperoper to the north and the former royal stables to the northwest. Within view
03:09lie the Catholic court church and the Italian village in Theater Square. The Wilstruffer
03:15Cubus on Postplatz and the Duchess Garden with the remnants of the former orangery building
03:19in the west. The terraced banks of the Elbe River are located 200 meters northeast of
03:25the Zwinger. The name Zwinger goes back to the common medieval German term for that part
03:30of a fortification between the outer and inner defensive walls, or outer ward. Archaeological
03:36evidence indicates that the construction of the first city wall took place in the last
03:40quarter of the 12th century. A documentary entry is Civitas in 1216 points to the existence
03:46of an enclosed Dresden fortification at that time. In 1427, during the Hussite Wars, work
03:53began on strengthening the city's defenses and they were enhanced by a second, outer,
03:58wall.
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