This is the second blog of my series on Germany, and for this blog I will be focusing my time on my weekend in Dresden and Leipzig. Although they are located about 75 miles apart, these two cities have many differences. My journey began in Dresden, following a smooth train ride from Wittenberg.
Dresden is the capital of the state of Saxony, and was traditionally the capital and where the kings and electors of Saxony lived. Due to Dresden’s association with the royalty, it became a center for the arts and its baroque styled city center. The town was infamously bombed during World War Two, which was very controversial as it occurred near the end of the war and caused a heavy amount of civilian casualties. The city has gradually been rebuilt in accordance with many of its previous blueprints. You will also notice that many of the buildings contain a mix of old and new stones, as they salvaged as many of the original stones as they could that were left after the bombings. Dresden is the second largest town on the banks of the Elbe River, and was the third largest town in Eastern Germany following reunification. The city is very large, and due to it’s size, some of the city center is still being reconstructed. The most prominent reconstructed structure in the city is the Frauenkirche, which stands right in front of the towns market square. This massive Lutheran Church was reconstructed through the 90s and early 2000s and was completed in 2005. During the time between its destruction and rebuilding it sat as a memorial to the thousands of lives lost during the bombings. Dresden is home to many museums, shops, and has a spectacular market during the warmer months of the year.
Leipzig
Following my visit to Dresden, I took the train to Leipzig. This city is the second largest city in the former East Germany(second only to Berlin), and was home to an integral movement for the reunification of Germany. The Peaceful Revolution of Leipzig occurred in 1989 and foreshadowed the fall of the wall. Spearheaded by many Lutheran pastors, this was a movement of the people, and it was so powerful that not even the Stasi(secret police) could undermine its operation. This city has a rich history that predates East Germany, and also has a large history associated with East Germany. The town is known for its musical history, especially Bach and Mendelssohn. I am a big fan of classic music, so this was something very interesting to me. I was able to visit Mendolssohn’s house, which unfortunately had to be restored due to the Third Reich’s antisemitic viewpoint towards the famous musician. Much of Mendelssohn’s work and public influence was censored because he was a member of a Jewish family. During the early stages of Germany’s reunification, his legacy began to be restored in Germany, and his house was restored and opened as a museum. Mendelssohn spent much of his life in Leipzig, shrouded behind the eternal shadow of J.S. Bach, whose legacy in Leipzig(and globally) is still felt today.
I was able to visit St. Thomas’ Church where Bach’s remains are buried. This church is very famous and was built in the 12th century. Throughout this church’s history it has welcomed many influential people. The reformer Martin Luther preached here in 1539, Bach was the music director here from 1723-1750, Mozart played the organ here in 1789, Wagner was baptized here in 1813. Also located in this city is the Stasi museum, where you can learn about the East German secret police. The Stasi were known internationally for employing regular plainclothes people to spy on each other for the government. Neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and sometimes even family members were employed as spies to gain intelligence on each person in effort to prevent an uprising. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Stasi records became public to (former) East German citizens, which can be viewed at this museum.
Strange Sights
Anytime I travel I keep my eyes out for everything and anything that happens around me. Germany was a very safe country in every city I visited, but that didn’t prevent me from seeing some bizarre things. In Dresden, it was a very hot day, and I saw a man wade into the Elbe River. I thought in my head, that it was hot and he was just cooling off(which I could not blame him for). The man then proceeded to pull his pants down, and I believe he used the river as his bathroom. My friends busted out laughing after immediately shielding our eyes. The next day in Leipzig we watched a man walk up to the garbage and pull out a cigarette butt, then he tried to smoke it and then threw it away. I then saw the man walk up to the next garbage can and grab a mostly empty coffee drink, and then finish it. This was unusual, he continued to walk around near us, and stare at us as if we were crazy for not taking advantage of the free items in the garbage. They always say, one mans trash is another mans treasure….. If you enjoyed this post stay tuned for my next blog on my Germany series, on Erfurt Germany.