Albertinum

Description:

• This imposing imperial structure houses one of Germany's great galleries. It's named for the Saxon King Albert, who, between 1884 and 1887, converted this former royal arsenal into a home for a vast collection of art and precious jewelry.

  On the upper two floors is the Galerie Neue Meister, a collection of 19th- and 20th-century art and sculpture, from Corot to Otto Dix. We are especially fond of the desolate and haunting landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich, the German Romantic artist. Impressionists and post-Impressionists are well represented, including Gauguin, Degas, Manet, Monet, Corinth, Liebermann, Klimt, and van Gogh. Antifascist artists, whose works were either destroyed or banned in the Nazi era, are also on display. In the sculpture collection, the works of more than 5 millennia are presented, ranging from the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and the Near East to virtually all epochs of European artistic developments, dating from the early Middle Ages.

  Warning: At press time in 2008, this fabled museum was closed for extensive renovations. When you arrive in Dresden, check on its status before heading here.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010