Dresden in the Napoleonic Age

The events of the French Revolution were also followed attentively in Dresden – the »Pillnitz Declaration« against France was drawn up in 1791 – and led to certain social unrest.

In 1805, the French armies defeated and marched into Saxony, which thus became an ally of Napoleon. The latter stayed in Dresden on several occasions and it was here, in a bloody battle before the gates of the city in August 1813, that he celebrated one of his last victories.

Following Napoleon's defeat near Leipzig, Saxony was placed under Russian-Prussian governorship; in 1815, following the Congress of Vienna, it was required to cede half of its territories to Prussia.