BRÜHLSCHE TERRACE

This six hundred metre walk, bordered by an exceptional Baroque and Neoclassical architectural ensemble, overlooks the Elbe River along the southern shore. Called "the balcony of Europe", it is the work of Count Heinrich von Brühl, hence its name "Terrace Brühl". Augustus the Strong donated this piece of the city's old fortifications to his Minister of State in 1789. Brühl had the casemates of the bastion condemned, and then built a garden, a library, a gallery, a belvedere and a palace, the Palais Brühl. It was destroyed after his death in 1763, when the Terrace returned to the princely house. Brühl's economic policy had led the state to bankruptcy. In Brühl's time, the Terrace was private; the grand staircase (Grosse Freitreppe) which allows ordinary people to access it was built in 1868. From there, you will have a breathtaking view of the Elbe and the northern bank of Dresden.

Today, on the Brühl Terrace stands a beautiful architectural ensemble that is part of the city's inimitable silhouette. You can access the Terrace either by the Grosse Freitreppe, on the Schlossplatz side, or by the Albertinum, on the Frauenkirche side. The Ständehaus, which stands just next to the stairs, is a tall neo-Renaissance building built between 1901 and 1906, on the former site of the Brühl Palace. At the top of the steps, you will come across the Sekundogenitur, built in 1896-1897 for the second royal prince, instead of the Brühl Library. Opposite is the statue of Ernst Rietschel, a great Saxon sculptor of the 19th century. Next to the Sekundogenitur stands the Kunstakademie, the Academy of Fine Arts built between 1890 and 1894, with its unique lemon-press dome, surmounted by what appears to be an angel, but which is actually a fama sounding the trumpets of fame. On the right, if you leave the terrace, you will reach the Albertinum Museum. Don't miss the beautiful Delphinbrunnen (dolphin fountain) dating from 1750, as well as the Caspar David Friedrich Memorial made of bronze and steel, a sculpture created by Wolf-Eike Kuntsche in 1990.