Saxon History

Dresden's origins extend to at least the early 1200s, when the Margrave of Meißen built a castle near a fishing village. In 1489 it became the residence and capital of the Albertine line of Wettin rulers. The city burned in 1491 and was heavily damaged in the Seven Years' War in the 18^th century and again during the Napoléonic wars. Historically one of the cultural centres of Europe, Dresden was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing raids of 13-14^th February 1945, during World War Two. The heart of the old city, on the south side of a bend in the Elbe River, has been reconstructed since the war. Nearby coalfields led to the industrialisation of Dresden in the late 19^th century. Manufactured products include precision and optical instruments, radio and electrical equipment, hydroelectric generators, and X-ray and photographic equipment. Flowers and shrubs are grown for export. The world-famous Dresden china is made at nearby Meißen. The Central Institute for Nuclear Physics and the German Museum of Hygiene are also in Dresden. Protest demonstrations in Dresden in 1989 influenced the rapid political liberalisation in East Germany that preceded the reunification. In 2005, the population of Dresden was 489,700.

Leipzig is the capital of Leipzig district and one of Germany's larger cities. Leipzig grew during the 11th century around a castle in Saxony named Libzi. A major European intellectual and cultural centre, Leipzig lies at the junction of the Weisse Elster, Parthe, and Pleisse rivers in the middle of a broad plain at the crossing of two ancient trade routes. Its location made it a natural trade centre, and Leipzig established a great medieval fair. Today the annual Leipzig Trade Fair, a major forum for international trade, attracts many visitors. The city became the heart of the German book trade and won world fame as a music centre. It was the birthplace of Richard Wagner and the home of Robert Schumann and Johann Sebastian Bach. The University of Leipzig, founded in 1409, became a great centre of German education. In 1519, in the Leipzig Disputation, Martin Luther and John Eck held a public debate on Christian doctrine. Since suffering major damage in the Thirty Years' War, its industries include heavy constructional engineering and electrical, textile, clothing, chemical, and machine-tool enterprises. Leipzig is the focus of railway lines and major roads, and there are two airports. Napoléon Bonaparte was defeated here in October 1814 at the battle of Leipzig. Prussia, Russia and Austria won when Saxony deserted Napoléon. The battle inaugurated the final phase of Germany’s liberation. After the devastation of World War Two, the restoration and reconstruction of Leipzig and its political and social institutions were carried out under the Communist policies of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Weekly marches protesting Communist party rule and encouraging democracy in 1989 were at the forefront of the largely peaceful revolution that swept across Germany.