History The Palais im Grossen Garten was built by the Saxonian Chief Architect (Oberlandbaumeister)Johann Georg Starke for the Elector Johann Georg III.Construction began in 1676. The only purpose of the building was to house the festive entertainments of the Dresden Court. Only when the fashion changed and palaces nearby were preferred for festivities, were antique sculptures, owned by the Elector August the Strong, displayed on the first floor. ( historical view - size 230 kb) The Palais im Grossen Garten is an arthistorically important building. It is one of the first structures in Germany built by a German architect in the style of the Italian Baroque, and proves that Germany had caught up with the international development in art after the devastations of the Thirty Years War. For the art history of Dresden the Palais is of eminent importance. Together with the Stallhof next to the Dresden Palace and the Dresden Zwinger it documents the typical traditions of festive entertainment at the Saxonian Court, which were meant to show off wealth and power. The construction of costly buildings of stone for just that purpose was unique in the Holy Roman Empire. Under very difficult conditions reconstruction began already during the GDR period, such as, for example,the restoration of the stuccowork on the ceilings of the three large first floor halls, that was finished in 1992. The opportunity we have now to restore the Palais in its entirety to its original condition, should not be missed.There is enough left of the original ballroom area that a reconstruction would be feasible and, in view of the truly European importance of the building,also most appropriate. We advocate strongly that the restauration should be undertaken with the goal of creating a multi- purpose building for festive activities and official functions.

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