Dresden

Situated in a valley on the River Elbe, Dresden is the capital city of German state, Saxony. This city has been home to the Kings of Saxony, who bestowed the city with artistic and cultural magnificence. Some of the famous things from Dresden include its porcelain, known for its unique styling and designs. This style developed as an artistic movement during the 19th century. Dresden was one of the key centres of the Romanticism movement, which encompassed arts, culture and literature. The popular Dresden style is credited to four prominent ceramic decorators namely Richard Klemm, Donath & Co., Oswald Lorenz and Adolph Hamann, who registered the famous blue crown Dresden mark. Their style combined elements from Meissen and Vienna flower and figure painting. Later, the Crown and Dresden mark begun to be utilised by others also. The Dresden chinaware is stated to be based on the revival of a French style called Rococo in which, decoration was primarily done with stones and seashells or unusual shapes. The Dresden dinnerware was designed with motifs like foliage, shells, flowers, fruits and scrolls. Apart from dinnerware, other popular souvenirs from that period are the lace porcelain figurines. These figures were quite elaborated and even their groupings were produced in large quantities. These continue to be made in Germany till date.