Rob and Margot online

In a cell under this section of the city walls, legend says an alchemist working for (imprisoned by) the Saxon Elector, Augustus, discovered the formula for porcelain, breaking the Asian monopoly on porcelain manufacture, and guaranteeing great wealth for Saxon rulers for generations.

This road leads from the Dredner Frauenkirche (destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden towards the end of WWII) to the main square (Schlossplatz) of Dresden (also destroyed.) The mural on the left (Fuerstenzug) was made between 1872-1876, and shows a ''Procession of Dukes'', representing all the significant nobility of Saxony up to the time the ...

Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony commisioned an organ made out of porcelain, but due to technological difficulties, it was only completed a few years ago.

Leading down the stairs from the museum, we were greeted by a concert on the first organ made with porcelain pipes.  In the earliest part of the 1700s, the Saxon King, Augustus the Strong, commissioned an organ made with porcelain pipes.  Because of the shrinkage inherent in the firing process, it was difficult to be able to create ...

The Meissen Porcelain works has a museum which contains a collection of examples of work they have completed since their inception.  This urn is several meters tall and was (if I recall correctly) one of a set created for the Worlds Fair.

Another station in the tour.  This artisan is a painter/glazer, reproducing the blue patterns on the dishes.  Only pieces meeting the most exacting standards can be sold with the Meissen mark.

One of the stations of the public tour, this woman is an artisan who specializes in assembling figurines from the sculpted parts passed to her from other artisans.  There is a rigorous apprenticeship program, with individuals practicing for years before being able to work on items of this level.

The courtard to one of the nicest factories I have ever seen.  Porcelain was the primary source of wealth to those rulers who knew the secret of its manufacture.  For many years, European rulers coveted the recipe for Chinese porcelain dishes.  The Saxon ruler invested a team of alchemists to reverse engineer the process, and once ...

Same darn picture, slightly different view. You'll notice the small bus in front of the main entrance. That is the bus we used over the course of our weeklong trip. We had the same driver the whole time, a wonderful fellow who helped pass the travelling time by telling us stories of life in the GDR, under Soviet control, informers in the Stasi, ...