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Dresden Heath

Forests and woodlands of SaxonyGeography of DresdenNature reserves in SaxonyProtected areas of SaxonyTourist attractions in Dresden
Karte Dresdner Heide
Karte Dresdner Heide

The Dresden Heath (German: Dresdner Heide) is a large forest in the city of Dresden, Germany. The heath is the most important recreation area in the city and is also actively forested. Approximately 6,133 hectares of the Dresden Heath are designated as a nature preserve, making it one of the largest municipal forests in Germany by area. Though mainly agricultural areas border the forest in the east, in all other directions the Dresden Heath is bordered by districts of the city and reaches nearly to the city centre in the southwest. The forest exhibits a transition, both in its geology and in its plant and animal life, between the North German Plain and the Central Uplands. Except for small areas, the Dresden Heath is considered part of the western Lusatian Highlands and, consequently, is one of the westernmost parts of the Sudetes. Though the rocky subsoil of the forest was raised during the tectonic formation of the Dresden Basin, the mixed woodland of the heath is largely characterized by dune-like sand deposits of the Wolstonian Stage and Elster glaciation. The proximity of the Dresden Heath to the centre of Dresden led to its use as a princely hunting ground, as well as its cultivation and cultural development.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Dresden Heath (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Dresden Heath
Prießnitztalstraße, Dresden

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.0956 ° E 13.8381 °
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Address

Prießnitztalstraße

Prießnitztalstraße
01099 Dresden (Loschwitz)
Saxony, Germany
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Karte Dresdner Heide
Karte Dresdner Heide
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Loschwitz
Loschwitz

Loschwitz is a borough (Stadtbezirk) of Dresden, Germany, incorporated in 1921. It consists of ten quarters (Stadtteile): Loschwitz is a villa quarter located at the slopes north of the Elbe river. At the top of the hillside is the quarter of Weißer Hirsch, named after a former inn erected in 1685 by the Saxon kapellmeister Christoph Bernhard, where in 1888 the naturopathic physician Heinrich Lahmann opened a sanatorium. The quarters of Wachwitz and Pillnitz are adjacent in the east and the Rosengarten park in the west. Loschwitz is connected with the borough of Blasewitz south of the Elbe by the Blue Wonder (Blaues Wunder) bridge. Furthermore, the borough encompasses large parts of the Dresden Heath, the city's forest. The old village of Loschwitz, a wine-growing area since the 11th century, was first mentioned in a 1227 deed. About 1660 Elector John George II of Saxony had several vineyards laid out at the hillside, that soon became a fashionable recreational and residential area for the Dresden nobility and wealthy bourgeois like the composer Heinrich Schütz or the goldsmith Johann Melchior Dinglinger. The author Christian Gottfried Körner had a cottage within the vineyards, where his guest Friedrich Schiller wrote the Ode to Joy in 1785. About 1800 James Ogilvy, 7th Earl of Findlater acquired large estates, where from 1850 the Elbschlösser (Elbe Castles) were erected: Albrechtsberg Palace and Villa Stockhausen (Lingnerschloss) of Prince Albert of Prussia as well as Eckberg Castle, finished in 1861. The church is of especial architectural and historical interest, as is the churchyard, for the many burials of notable people. It was full by about 1800 and was replaced by Loschwitz Cemetery. A popular place is the restaurant Luisenhof, built in 1895 and named after Crown Princess Luise of Saxony. The "Dresden balcony" offers a panoramic view of the city and the Elbe valley. Nearby is the Standseilbahn Dresden funicular railway as well as the Schwebebahn Dresden, the oldest suspension railway of the world, which both are still in use. Nobility and rich citizens of Dresden used to live in Loschwitz such as Theodor Körner, Carl Maria von Weber and Gerhard von Kügelgen. A famous inhabitant of Weißer Hirsch was the inventor Manfred von Ardenne with his institute for scientific research. One of his neighbours was the retired officer Friedrich Paulus, commander in the Battle of Stalingrad, who died here in 1957. Also a number of famous people stayed in Loschwitz for a short time: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Heinrich von Kleist, Ernst Moritz Arndt, Novalis, Ludwig Tieck, Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Leopold Auer and Anton Graff. Between the 1920s and 1930s Loschwitz used to be the most expensive living area of all Europe. This is evidenced in the surviving funicular railway, originally placed as an aid purely to residents in ascending the steep slopes of the river valley, and only recently having acquired novelty as a minor tourist attraction. Recently restored and operated by the local public transportation agency.

Loschwitz Bridge
Loschwitz Bridge

Loschwitz Bridge (Loschwitzer Brücke) is a cantilever truss bridge over the river Elbe in Dresden the capital of Saxony in Germany. It connects the city districts of Blasewitz and Loschwitz, two affluent residential areas, which around 1900 were amongst the most expensive in Europe. It is located close to Standseilbahn Dresden funicular railway and the world's oldest suspension railway Schwebebahn Dresden, as well as near the Dresden TV tower. The bridge is colloquially referred to as Blaues Wunder ("Blue Wonder"). This common name purportedly referred to the bridge's original blue colour and being seen as a technological miracle at the time; it is also understood to carry the cynical connotation referencing the German idiom ein blaues Wunder erleben meaning "to experience an unpleasant surprise" (literally: "to experience a blue wonder"), reflecting the skeptical view of contemporary commentators. There is also a bridge in Wolgast known as Blaues Wunder. Construction took two years and was completed in 1893 at a cost of 2.25 million Goldmarks (equivalent to 14 million 2017 €) and named König-Albert-Brücke in honor of King Albert of Saxony. In the 19th century, a bridge of this length without supporting river piers was considered a technological masterpiece. Today the technology is less miraculous, but the bridge is a much-loved symbol of the city. The original bridge toll ended during the hyperinflation of 1923. Towards the end of World War II, an SS unit attempted to destroy the bridge, but this was prevented when two people cut the detonator wires. Preserved in its original construction, the advanced age of the structure in recent years has led to some traffic limits. Until the opening of the Waldschlösschenbrücke on 26 August 2013, it was the only Elbe crossing east of the city centre. The surrounding area of 19.3 km2 (7.5 sq mi) of the Elbe meadows was declared a cultural World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2004, but lost the title in 2009 following the construction of the Waldschlösschenbrücke, meant to relieve congestion on the Blue Wonder.