Neustadt District

The quarter on the right banks of the Elbe is called Neustadt, even though the settlement across the Old City bore the name "Altendresden" (Olden Dresden) until the 18th century. Freedom of the city was granted already in 1403, but nevertheless it always remained in the shade of the residence on the other side of the Elbe. After a disastrous fire in 1685 the quarter – in the meanwhile incorporated into Dresden – was systematically rebuilt as the "New Town near Dresden", the Neustadt quarter.
The baroque reconstruction produced attractive streets and sites which can still be experienced in the area around Königstrasse. Prelude to the "Inner Neustadt" is the Neustädter Markt with the equestrian statue of the Saxon elector and Polish king Frederick August I, the "Golden Horseman". Beyond the statue is the beginning of the Hauptstrasse, the main street of the historical quarter.

Upstream the government quarter on Königsufer bank borders on the Inner Neustadt and is dominated by the two monumental buildings of the Saxon Ministry of Finance (1890/96) and the Saxon State Government (former General Ministry, 1900/04) with their splendid historicist facades and roof constructions.

The northern adjoining district is called the Outer Neustadt, a residential district with preserved historicized architecture from the turn of the century. In the past decade a manifold cultural scene has developed in the narrowly built streets. Today the Outer Neustadt between Königsbrücker Strasse and Lutherplatz square has uncounted restaurants, manifold shopping opportunities and cultural offers.