Pluses & Minuses

DRESDEN was a capital city, chiefly of Saxony, for hundreds of years.

A 17th-century 24-pdr gun outside a restaurant in the old town

As such it benefitted from royal patronage, which helps explain the wide streets and airy feel of the historic centre.

But Dresden was also a target for enemy militaries, being badly damaged by the Prussians in the 1700s and the Americans and British two centuries later.