The capital of the federal state of Saxony and at the same time the largest metropolitan area in the state is Dresden, the most populous city is Leipzig, and the third major city is Chemnitz.
The buildings (e.g. Residenzschloss, Zwinger and Semperoper Dresden, Pillnitz Pleasure Palace, Moritzburg and Hubertusburg hunting lodges) and collections (e.g. Green Vault, Picture Gallery of Old and New Masters, Armory) of the Saxon Electors are regarded by the people of Saxony as perceived Saxon cultural assets.
The paintings in the Dresden art galleries are being sold because the Electors i. A. counted among the Saxon culture, even if the artists only spent part of their lives in Saxony. This applies in particular to paintings with typical Saxon landscape motifs, e.g. B. the depictions of Dresden and Pirna by the Italian painter Canaletto and Saxon Switzerland by Caspar David Friedrich, who was born in Greifswald.
Several festivals are held in Saxony, with festivals such as the International Dixieland Festival Dresden, Kosmonaut Festival, Leipzig Jazz Days, Highfield Festival, Leipzig Bach Festival, Th!nk?, Nachtdigital, Dresden Guitar Festival, Dresden Days of Contemporary Music, Wave Gothic Meetings and the Endless Summer Open Air served many different styles of music. In terms of music, the performances of the world-famous Saxon State Orchestra in the Semperoper and the Kreuzchor in the Kreuzkirche should be emphasized in Dresden. The organ landscape of Saxony is characterized by the work of Gottfried Silbermann, the perfector of the Central German baroque organ.
Gasholders or gasometers, large-scale structures of industrial heritage, can still be found in many places, such as Pforzheim or Leipzig, where these former gas or storage tanks served to supply cities with city gas or for storage, although today they often have completely different uses.
We were traveling in Dresden again and as the opening picture clearly indicates: it wasn't a really nice day that invited us to linger on the Elbe promenade.
The Panometer of Dresden, where the panoramic picture “Amazon” by Yadegar Asisi will be shown from January 27, 2024, is a former gas container or gas tank that was once used to store all kinds of gases and in particular to store fuel gases such as town gas and natural gas.
Following an invitation from Claudia and Heinrich, we drove to the previously completely unknown town of Kamenz, where a first surprise awaited us at the entrance to the town.
After our interesting visit to the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, there was only about 50 kilometers to go to Dresden, which we covered on the federal highway 6, which ran parallel to the Elbe.
After our extensive visit to the Leipzig Zoo, the large panorama picture "Amazonia" by Asisi in the Panometer, Detlef led us on a short tour of Leipzig city center, which we started directly at the Gewandhaus, which is world-famous for the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Thomanerchor.
After our arrival in Halle in the evening, we and Detlef had set out a supporting program for the next few days, which also included a visit to the zoo in Leipzig.
After our visit to the Leipzig Zoological Garden, Detlef took us to the panometer for the picture composition "Rainforest".