Dresden Zwinger

The Zwinger is defined by its massive, dark-gold sandstone pavilions connected by delicate, open-air galleries that form a perfect square. Augustus the Strong commissioned this complex in seventeen oh nine to host lavish court festivals. Architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann designed the structures to look like an orangery, though they served primarily as a theater for the king's ego. During the final months of the second world war, firestorms gutted the pavilions, leaving only the exterior walls standing among the ruin of the city.