2009 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

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The Fürstengalerie was opened in
March 2009. It connects the Englische Treppe
with the Neues Grünes Gewölbe.
has been turned into an impressive interior. At the end of
January 2009 this space was opened to the public as a new
visitors’ foyer. The Kleiner Schlosshof or Small Courtyard
has thus been transformed into an indispensable place for
ticket offices and information desks, as a meeting point for
guided tours, as a room for lectures and exhibition openings.
When the exhibition “Mit Fortuna übers Meer.
Sachsen und Dänemark – Ehen und Allianzen im Spiegel
der Kunst (1548 – 1709)“ (Crossing the Seas with Fortuna.
Saxony and Denmark – Marriages and Alliances Mirrored
in Art [1548 – 1709]) was opened in August 2009, the
courtyard became a highly exclusive venue. With the
completion of every new stage in the development of the
Residenzschloss it will continue to show its worth and
provide the amenities that are required by a museum
complex of this size in the 21st century.
Along with the aforementioned exhibition, the Fürstengalerie
(Princes’ Gallery) on the first floor of the Residenzschloss
was also opened in August 2009 in the presence of the
Queen of Denmark and the Prime Minister of Saxony. It
shows the Saxon electors and kings from the House of
Wettin, Albertine lineage, who used to reside in the Palace.
The series of portraits begins with Elector Moritz (1521 –
1553), who was granted the electoral privilege by Emperor
Charles V in 1547, and extends up to King Friedrich August
III (1865 – 1932), who abdicated in 1918. The ornate gallery
was designed by the firm of architects Architekturbüro
Peter Kulka (Cologne/Dresden). It enables the visitor to
become acquainted with the Saxon rulers, whose history
is presented through unique objects in the permanent
exhibitions in the Palace, some of which are already open
The Englische Treppe prior to reconstruction ( 2001) ...
... and in impressive new splendour
following its restoration
and some of which will be opening in the next few years.
Located in the connecting wing between the Large and the
Kleiner Schlosshof, the approximately 40 m long Fürstengalerie
links the Neues Grünes Gewölbe to the Englische
Treppe. The Englische Treppe, originally reserved only for
the Saxon royal family and their guests, has been open to
the public since the end of March 2009. Every visitor entering
the Palace reaches the individual exhibition areas via
this staircase. The “Grand Staircase” was designed in 1692
by Johann Georg Starcke and Christoph Beyer as a broad
staircase supported on four pillars with a stairwell. In 1693
it was renamed the “Englische Treppe” because Elector
Johann Georg IV had been appointed a knight of the Order
of the Garter by the English ambassador Sir William Swan.
In 1701 the staircase was destroyed in a fire and between
1718 and 1719 it was redesigned by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann.
At the end of the 19th century, the Residenzschloss,
and hence also the staircase, took on a new,
neo-Baroque appearance to mark the 800th anniversary
of the House of Wettin.
In February 1945 the staircase was completely destroyed.
Work to secure the structure did not begin until the early
1990s. From 2005 onwards, the destroyed staircase was
gradually dismantled and then rebuilt. The most impressive
element is the stucco ceiling. It is the magnificent and
imposing climax of the architectural composition. Whilst
the Englische Treppe, Fürstengalerie and Kleiner Schlosshof
were opened in 2009, construction work on the Türckische
Cammer, directly above the Fürstengalerie and as yet still
hidden from public view, continued apace. The Türckische
Cammer will be the first section of the Rüstkammer to