Brühl's Terrace and Dresden Fortress

Underneath Brühl´s Terrace, which was opened up to the public as early as 1814, lies Dresden Fortress. Built as a ring of walls and surrounded by a water moat, they are thought to be the oldest Renaissance structures in the city. Here you will find the 400-year-old Brick Gate, Dresden´s only surviving original city gate, complete with the guard rooms. In addition, you can see the relics of medieval defence systems, the old town bridge, the small bastion and the casemates.

Mysterious vaults take you back into bygone times, and models illustrate how Dresden once protected itself against enemies. It was in the vaults beneath the terrace that Johann Friedrich Böttger succeeded in producing the first European hard-paste porcelain in 1708. In a permanent exhibition entitled »The Renaissance Town Fortifications« you get a good idea of that time.