DRESDEN, East Germany

The Rebuilding of a City

Page 2 - The Palais

Most reconstruction projects, such as the castle and the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) are funded by the city of Dresden with the help of donators from all over the world. The pace of construction is slow, which may have something to do with the availability of money alloted for the project.

In comparison, the rebuilding of another small castle, the Taschenberg Palais, was finished in an astonishing 3 years. The buidling had been sold to a large hotel chain, and was reconstructed as a commercial venture.
The Palais in 1992

The Palais in 1992 - nothing but the outer walls were still standing.

The Palais in 1995

The Palais in 1995 - almost finished.

By 1998, hotel guests were walking in and out of what used to be nothing but a ruin for almost 50 years. Unfortunately, inside the hotel there is not a single reminder of this gigantic reconstruction feat. Not a single photo comparing "before" and "after", no plaques commemorating the event. I found this to be a bit disappointing. Maybe the management didn't want their guest to be disturbed by bad memories of the past... But what is to become of our sense of history, if we choose to so completely erase the scars of the war?

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More Info on the Rebuilding of Dresden

Documentaries on East Germany

 

Information & Pictures of the Berlin Wall

 

visit DRESDEN (links to many different photos)

 

This page was created by Simone Shoemaker, Coastline Productions. For comments, questions or to report missing links, please contact: simone@coastlinevideo.com