The Zwinger Palace in Dresden is a triumph of German court architecture. It also displays one of the world’s most extraordinary collection of Old Master paintings. It might be the most jaw-dropping and extraordinary Old Master collection anywhere. The iconic Raphael, the big mama of all his Madonnas, acres of Rubens, and Rembrandts, Rococo pastels, weird Cranachs, as well as Canalettos and Bellottos galore make the Zwinger a place to be for an art high. It’s the Old World at its most enchanting and opulent.
“Zwinger” is the German term for a border fortification, which once existed on the site. As Dresden expanded, the land, prime real estate, became an orangery and, by the 1720s, a pleasure palace with pavilions, galleries, and courtyards for processions and festivals.
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