Dresden City Hall
By Gregor Gosciniak, German Editor

7 August 2005: Dresden’s famous skyline, which has been painted by many great artists including, in the 18th century, by Canaletto (Bernardo Bellotto), is dominated by historic buildings such as the Semper Opera House, the Residenzschloß (Royal Palace), with the Hausmannsturm tower, the Catholic Hofkirche (Court Church) and the distinct cupola, known as ‘lemon squeezer’, of the Dresden Art Academy. In 2004, this unique scenery was completed by the restoration of the cupola of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). The Dresden City Hall, too, blends in harmonically with the city’s silhouette. Being the heart of the Dresden’s political life and administration, it has seen many changes and upheavals in its history.

Dresden, today’s capital of Saxony, was first mentioned in 1206 in an official document of the margrave Dietrich der Bedrängte (Dietrich the Thronged). In 2006, the city will celebrate its 800-year jubilee.

Sauntering from Brühlsche Terrasse towards the Altmarkt (Old Market), one reaches the historic centre of Dresden. First mentioned in 1370, the Altmarkt used to be the setting for lavish festivals, tournaments and bloody animal fights, until the Zwinger building was constructed.

Dresden’s first City Hall was situated just north of the Residenzschloß. In its first official record in 1295, it was called a ‘Kaufhaus’, a store. Only with its increasing significance as residence of the city council, administrative building and meeting place in the 14th and 15th century, the Kaufhaus officially became the City Hall in 1380. In the centuries that followed, it underwent constant architectural modification.

Dresden’s development into a city and the increasing administrative tasks necessitated a new City Hall building around the turn of the 20th century. The young architect Karl Roth from Darmstadt won the architectural tender. The city’s building officer, Edmund Bräter, took charge of the construction. The third City Hall building on the river Elbe’s left bank was erected between 1905 and 1910 in the area of the Altmarkt and the Kreuzkirche. The grand, sandstone building impresses with baroque forms and a style mixture of Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau. During the bomb attacks in February 1945, the City Hall was so badly damaged that it was only re-erected in a ‘simplified version’ after the war. On the Rathausplatz, a monument by Walter Reinhold commemorates the efforts of all those women who removed the debris and rebuilt the city after its disastrous destruction. These women have come to be known as ‘Trümmerfrauen’ (debris women) in the collective memory.

The highlight of the four- to five-storey building with its six inner courts is the Rathaus tower, with the Golden “Rathausmann” statue enthroned on top of its 98 meters. The coloss with 4.9 meters of height embodies Hercules as a patron, holding his right hand over the city in a protective gesture and outpouring with his left hand his cornucopia above the city. The famous Dresden artist Richard Guhr created this sculpture out of gilded copper plate between 1908 and 1910, using the artiste and wrestler Ewald Redam as his model. But time did not spare Hercules and so he had to be removed from its place for restoration in August 2004. In time for Dresden’s 800th jubilee in 2006, he will again guarding the city from his towering position.

Next to the City Hall tower there are further interesting sights and architectural features: For instance, an art nouveau stairway, designed and painted by Otto Gussmann, leads to the festival and debating chamber. And in front of the entrance to the Ratskeller, in the basement of the City Hall, there is a bronze statue by Georg Wrba, called ‘Bacchus auf einem trunkenen Esel reitend’ (Bacchus riding on a drunken donkey). It is said to bring good luck if you touch the big toe of Dionysos, the god of wine.

Another highlight is the climb to the viewing platform of the City Hall tower, from where one can enjoy a marvellous view over the city and the Elbe valley towards the Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland). The Elbe 18 kilometres long valley is characterised by a fascinating interplay of river and architecture, nature and culture. In June 2005, it was officially included in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. The City Hall’s viewing platform is decorated with larger-than-life sandstone sculptures, created by renowned sculptors like Peter Pöppelmann, August Schreitmüller, Bruno Fischer and Arthur Selbman.

Since June 2001, Lord Mayor Ingolf Rossberg has been leading Dresden as head of the city council and city administration. He is supported by the city council (70 members – 21 CDU (Christian Democrats) 17 PDS (Democratic Socialists) 9 Die Grünen (Greens), 6 citizen’s faction and 3 independent.