Pillnitz Palace & Park

Pillnitz Palace, the former summer residence of the Saxon royal court – the main palace wings were built 1720-22 for Augustus the Strong – is today the home of the Museum of Decorative Arts. The park is deserving of particular attention, as it combines the strict forms of the baroque period with those of an English landscape garden. Alongside many rare trees the over 200-year-old Japanese camellia is a particular magnet for visitors. The sunny slopes around Pillnitz allow the grapes to ripen for the exquisite dry Elbe valley wines. Here you can also discover the tiny Vineyard church built by Pöppelmann. Equally to be recommended are visits to the Carl-Maria-von-Weber Museum in Hosterwitz or the Richard-Wagner Museum in Graupa. Both composers chose the idyllic riverside setting as a summer retreat.