History of the Building

At one time, the Residenzschloss Dresden was among the most magnificent and important Renaissance palaces in Germany. Dresden had been the permanent residence of the Saxon kings and electors since 1485. The royal palace was given its distinctive architectural form between 1548 and 1556. It has remained a High Renaissance castle through all of the alterations and modernisations of the intervening centuries. It was planned and built as a castle, and it was used accordingly by the electors and kings as a centre of power and its display: the massive effect of the walls and the limited number of gates clearly communicate this defensive element of the architecture. This aspect resulted from the need for a well-protected residence which was suited not only for princely display and court life, but also to its role as the administrative seat of a sizeable state of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Of course, the historic site and its architectural layout caused difficulties for its use as a twenty-first century museum – particularly in terms of logistical requirements. The enclosure of the smaller of the two palace courtyards with a glass roof was one ingenious means to adapt the building to its new role. The royal palace burned down to its foundations on February 13, 1945. In the decades following the war, it constantly had to be defended from plans for its demolition. The reconstruction of the palace was begun in 1986, but the Saxon government’s 1997 resolution regarding the reconstruction of the palace introduced a new era in the history of the project. Today, the royal palace is the largest cultural construction project in Saxony.