Invitation to a press conference to mark the opening of August the Strong’s Royal State Apartments and the Porcelain Cabinet at Residenzschloss Dresden

19 September 2019

[Translate to English:] Paraderäume 1

The opening of August the Strong’s State Apartments and the Porcelain Cabinet marks another high point of the restoration of Dresden’s Residenzschloss, which began in 1986. The prestigious suite of rooms in the west wing – conceived by the Elector-King personally as a ceremonial centrepiece of his residence – takes visitors to the pinnacle of ostentatious princely splendour on their tour of the museum palace.

  • Opening Hours daily 10—18, Tuesday closed 01/04/2024 10—18 (Easter Monday) 02/04/2024 10—18 (open additionally) 21/05/2024 10—18 (zusätzlich geöffnet)

[Translate to English:] Paraderäume 2

Together with original artworks from several of Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden’s museums, the painstakingly restored rooms form a unique ensemble of museum-grade rooms. The harmonious interplay of wall textiles, paintings, precious ornamental furniture and porcelains, magnificent robes of state and August the Strong’s royal insignia let visitors experience both the standard of European artistry in the early 18th century and the ceremonial court culture.

August the Strong opened the State Apartments exactly 300 years ago, in September 1719, to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Friedrich August and daughter of the Emperor and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. In 1997, the Saxon State Government decided that the ceremonial rooms, which had been completely destroyed in the war, should be rebuilt as far as possible. The present meticulous restoration of the rooms to their historic, 18th century condition is an immense achievement by Staatsbetriebe Sächsische Immobilien- und Baumanagement (Saxon Real Estate and Construction Management, SIB) and many regional and international artists and craftspeople. Comprehensive records allowed the rooms to be restored as closely as possible to the original. For instance, Louis de Silvestre’s monumental ceiling paintings were recreated based on colour photographs taken from 1942/1944. The preserved baroque ornamental silk velvet and gold braid textiles were restored and supplemented with ‘thread-true’ recreations, while lost tapestries were reproduced based on comparable examples. Overall, 300 craft firms from around Europe that have preserved the traditional skills worked together on this project.

Thanks to timely removal for safekeeping, many of the precious items of furniture from the early 18th century and the following decades, which were in the ceremonial rooms inventory, were preserved. They had been stored by the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) since the end of the Second World War: the throne, rare silver furniture from Augsburg and French ornamental furniture with Boulle marquetry. Paintings and overdoors by Louis de Silvestre from Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister now complete the current restoration process.

In four other rooms that, like the restored State Apartments, are in the west wing, exhibits from the Rüstkammer (Armoury) showcase the overwhelming splendour with which August the Strong staged his own persona and power. Besides the ‘Royal Wardrobe’ and the royal insignia of the Saxon-Polish union, the figurine dressed in the coronation regalia of 1697 with the face of August the Strong from the life mask of 1704 is particularly impressive. Other royal artefacts, like the electoral hat and the ceremonial swords of Poland and Lithuania, reveal the European dimension of the linked Saxon and Polish monarchy.
The route to the State Apartments also takes visitors through the 100 m² Turmzimmer (Tower Room) in the Hausmannsturm of the Residenzschloss. At the time of the wedding, August the Strong displayed his exceptionally precious monumental silver vessels on pedestals and wall shelves there. In the 1730s, the silver buffet was turned into a porcelain cabinet that went on to serve as a prominent showroom for the electoral and royal porcelain collection for 200 years. Now hosting a selection of porcelain, like Johann Joachim Kändler’s outstanding vases depicting the elements, the recreated room has regained its historical function.

 

Opening weekend

Saturday, 28 September 2019

4 pm to 9 pm: the State Apartments are open, admission is free. (Admission with limited time slot tickets only. These tickets are available at the cash desks in the Residenzschloss and in ‘art and info’. Any left over tickets will be available at the cash desk on the day of the event.)

In addition, the museum areas of the Residenzschloss (except the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe) will be open from 10 am to 6 pm, admission is free.

Sunday, 29 September 2019

10 am to 8 pm: the State Apartments are open, admission is free. (The limited time slot tickets are already sold out. Any left over tickets will be available at the cash desk on the day of the event.)

In addition, the museum areas of the Residenzschloss (except the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe) will be open from 10 am to 6 pm, admission is free.

Learn more

SKD use the hashtags #paraderäume, #turmzimmer, #residenzschlossdresden and #skdmuseum to communicate on social media.

Presspictures and -dossiers

Audienzgemach der Paraderäume zum Presserundgang am 26. September 2019
© SKD, Foto: Oliver Killig
Audienzgemach der Paraderäume © SKD, Foto: HC KRASS
Paradeschlafzimmer der Paraderäume © SKD, Foto: HC KRASS
Paradeschlafzimmer der Paraderäume © SKD, Foto: HC KRASS
Krönungsfigur Augusts II. von Polen im Krönungsornat von 1697 Eröffnung der Paraderäume am 28. September 2019
© SKD, Foto: Oliver Killig
Audienzgemach der Paraderäume Eröffnung der Paraderäume am 28. September 2019
© SKD, Foto: Oliver Killig
Porzellankabinett im Turmzimmer © SKD, Foto: Oliver Killig
Paradeschlafzimmer mit grünen und goldenen Wandstoffen
Paradeschlafzimmer, virtuelle Rekonstruktion der Paraderäume von 1719, Dresden, 2014 © mic-vis.de, Studio für Visualisierung Berlin / SIB D1
Audienzgemach mit rot-goldenen Wandstoffen
Audienzgemach, virtuelle Rekonstruktion der Paraderäume von 1719, Dresden, 2014 © mic-vis.de, Studio für Visualisierung Berlin / SIB D1
schwarz-weiß-Fotografie des Turmzimmers
Das Turmzimmer im Residenzschloss Dresden, 1896 In: Das königliche Schloss zu Dresden, 1896, Tafel 20
© Foto und Lichtdruck von Römmler & Jonas, Repro: SKD, Andreas Diesend
Kupferstich des Audienzgemachs
Gérard (II) Scotin nach Raymond Leplat, Das Audienzgemach beim Empfang der Braut im Dresdner Schloss am 2. September 1719, vor 1728 Kupferstich-Kabinett der SKD
© SKD, Foto: Herbert Boswank
Figur von August dem Starken mit Lebendmaske, Krone, Zepter und Reichsapfel
Krönungsfigur Augusts II. von Polen im Krönungsornat von 1697 Ursprüngliche Zusammenstellung 1697–1704, Originalbestandteile: Krone, Zepter, Reichsapfel, Fußturnierharnisch, Säbel, Nachbildungen: Mantel (Original nicht ausgestellt), Ober- und Unterschurz, Lebendmaske, Kronhaube, Stiefel, Mantelschließe, Hose, Strümpfe, Wehrgehänge, Rüstkammer der SKD
© SKD, Foto: Jürgen Lösel
Galakleid aus hellblauer und goldener Seide
Galakleid Augusts II. von Polen mit dem Stern vom Königlich-Polnischen Weißen Adlerorden Oberstoff: französisch; Schneiderarbeit: Dresden, zwischen 1705 und 1720, Seide hellblau, rosa, rot, hellgrün, dunkelblau, Silberfäden; Seide creme; Ordensstern Gold- und Silberstickerei; Posamentenknöpfe, Rüstkammer
© SKD, Foto: Jürgen Lösel
gold-braune Standuhr
Jean-Pierre Latz und Denis (?) Gault, Pendule und Piedestal, Paris, um 1700 Kunstgewerbemuseum der SKD
© SKD, Foto: Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut
Porzellanvase mit blauer Bemalung
Qing-Zeit, Ara Kangxi, Dragonervase, China, Jingdezhen, 1675–1700 H. ca. 104 cm, Porzellansammlung der SKD
© SKD, Foto: Adrian Sauer
weiße Porzellanvase zum Element Luft
Johann Joachim Kaendler, Johann Friedrich Eberlein, Elementvase Luft aus dem fünfteiligen Satz der Elementvasen, Meissen, 1742 Porzellansammlung der SKD
© SKD, Foto: Adrian Sauer
Ölgemälde von Prinz Friedrich August
Louis de Silvestre (Werkstatt), König August III. von Polen als Prinz, nach 1716 Öl auf Leinwand, 146 x 113 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
© SKD, Foto: Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut
Ölgemälde von Maria Josepha von Österreich
Louis de Silvestre, Königin Maria Josepha, Gemahlin König Augusts III. von Polen als sächsische Kurprinzessin, nach 1719 Öl auf Leinwand, 142 x 114,5 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
© SKD, Foto: Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut
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