page_title: Zwinger (Dresden)
section_title: Destruction and rebuilding
hierarchical_section_title: Zwinger (Dresden) / History / Destruction and rebuilding
caption_attribution_description: Original image description from the Deutsche Fotothek Zwinger. Ruine des Wallpavillons und der nördlichen Bogengalerie
context_page_description: The Zwinger is a palatial complex with gardens in Dresden, Germany. Designed by architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, it is one of the most important buildings of the Baroque period in Germany. Along with the Frauenkirche, the Zwinger is the most famous architectural monument of Dresden.
  The name Zwinger goes back to the name used in the Middle Ages for a fortress part between the outer and inner fortress walls, even though the kennel no longer had a function corresponding to the name at the start of construction.
  The kennel was built in 1709 as an orangery and garden as well as a representative festival area. Its richly decorated pavilions and the galleries lined with balustrades, figures and vases testify to the splendor during the reign of Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. In the original conception of the elector, the kennel was the forecourt of a new castle provided that the place should take up to the Elbe; therefore, the kennel remained undeveloped on the Elbe side. The plans for a new castle were abandoned after the death of Augustus the Strong, and with the departure from the Baroque period, the Zwinger initially lost importance.
context_section_description: The building was mostly destroyed by the carpet bombing raids of 13–15 February 1945. The art collection had been previously evacuated, however. Reconstruction, supported by the Soviet military administration, began in 1945; parts of the restored complex were opened to the public in 1951. By 1963 the Zwinger had largely been restored to its pre-war state.
caption: Ruins of the wall pavilion in 1945.
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