Dresden

[HoHun]

Hi Erich,

>in regards to the Frauenkirche aren't the dark stone bricks the originals ?

Yes. It's sandstone, and I believe the new stones will eventually grow as dark as the historic stones. No idea how long this will take, though!

Here two pictures from 2002 - you can see the light colour of the new stones (temporarily stored in front of the Frauenkirche) and the contrast to the old masonry already included in the building.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[HoHun]

Hi Basket,

>That is something I would like to know. How DDR is Eastern Germany today? Does it look like a modern western state or is it obvious that it was a former Soviet vassal?

There are many things typical for Eastern German (and sometimes typical for socialist architecture) visible even today, but during the last 20 years a lot of modernization has taken place. It's really a remarkable mixture of new and old in some places.

Here is a panorama of Dresden. The generous use of concrete is somewhat typical for the GDR, but the bright colours indicate post-reunification modernization. The right-hand half of the picture shows the city centre which was razed in WW2. The tower of the Frauenkirche (still under construction in the picture) shows about the limit of the burned-down area.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[Gnomey]

Great stuff Chris!

 

[lesofprimus]

Thanks so much for takin the time for the history lesson and pics Chris, truly outstanding thread my man.....

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Chris

Super pics thanks for sharing with all of us.

in regards to the Frauenkirche aren't the dark stone bricks the originals ? this royal city was plastered real good it is almost a wonder anything was left of the origins to work with.

taking inside pics through glass is a pain in the arse is it not ? This is one city I would like to visit, the surrounding vineyards and the city of Meißen as well

Erich ~

Yes the dark stones are all original stones. Any of the historical buildings that have dark stones were rebuilt using the original. The whiter stones are the new stuff they had to put into place.

If I had had more time I would have liked to have checked out Meißen and the surrounding areas as well.

Thanks so much for takin the time for the history lesson and pics Chris, truly outstanding thread my man.....

Thanks I am glad you enjoyed it.

 

[HoHun]

Hi again,

Here some more Dresden street pictures ...

The glass-concrete-shape is the modern UFA cinema, the round building behind it on the left is the old (GDR) "round cinema".

The Karstadt shopping mall is GDR architecture (and has since been torn down, I read). It sort of imitated the renaissance Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, Italy.

The "Hotel Ibis" street scene shows typical GDR high-rise architecture - "Plattenbauten" made from prefabricated concrete slabs. Not pretty, but very popular in GDR times ... comparably modern and convenient, even if the flats were the same everywhere (including standardized floor plans).

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[Marcel]

Still have to go there. What a great restauration of the Frauen Kirche. Truly remarkable.

 

[Clave]

Amazing place!

It's good to know that somebody cares enough to do all that reconstruction...

 

[RabidAlien]

Excellent photos!!! I love the moodiness of the first set of pics, with the overcast and dreary, snowy day, the castle....excellent! Try turning your flash off when shooting indoors/through glass, or get on an angle to the subject so most of the glare will bounce off somewhere else, and not back into the lense. Your flash-spot will be much smaller! Amazing pics, though, and thanks for the history! Its always nice to know the story behind pics, rather than just sit and look at another "vacation slide".

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Actually I did not use a flash. In the museums you are not allowed to use flash.

 

[HoHun]

Hi Chris,

>Actually I did not use a flash. In the museums you are not allowed to use flash.

One trick to avoid reflections from glass is to use a roll a small piece of paper into the shape of a cylinder, put one end of the cylinder against the glass and then shoot through the cylinder. It even works if you use a flashlight.

However, I admit that under some circumstances, like when you're not allowed to touch the glass, when the view angle is insufficient with the camera against the glass, and when the object is very close behind the glass so that the camera doesn't manage to focus, this trick won't help either.

I imagine all these conditions were met in Dresden, so I guess you'll file my post under "useless advice"

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[syscom3]

Good job Deradler.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Hi Chris,

>Actually I did not use a flash. In the museums you are not allowed to use flash.

One trick to avoid reflections from glass is to use a roll a small piece of paper into the shape of a cylinder, put one end of the cylinder against the glass and then shoot through the cylinder. It even works if you use a flashlight.

However, I admit that under some circumstances, like when you're not allowed to touch the glass, when the view angle is insufficient with the camera against the glass, and when the object is very close behind the glass so that the camera doesn't manage to focus, this trick won't help either.

I imagine all these conditions were met in Dresden, so I guess you'll file my post under "useless advice"

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

Actually thanks for the advice. I had never heard of this before. I will certainly try it, maybe in Munich this weekend.

 

[Wayne Little]

Excellent Chris...great pics and history!