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 262 DRESDEN as a museum, is the most important structure. It stands near the Elbe, in the midst of pleasant gardens, and not far distant from the Leipsic gate. The Dreikonigskirche, with a tower about 300 ft. in height, and the Catholic church, are conspicuous buildings. The most noteworthy of the public resorts of the citizens is the Grosser Garten, a beautifully laid out and carefully kept park a short distance outside the city. A zoological garden of considerable interest is also maintained by the government, and there are several smaller gardens of some beauty. There are comparatively few public monuments in Dresden. An equestrian statue of Augustus the Strong stands in the Neu- stadtermarkt ; a fine drinking fountain, in the Gothic style, ornaments the Postplatz; and several statues embellish the steps of the public buildings. Four pieces of sculpture by Jo- hannes Schilling, typifying morning, noon, evening, and night, have recently been placed on the Brilhl terrace. The art collections of Dresden enjoy a world- wide celebrity, and are among the finest in Europe. The great gal- lery of paintings in the museum contains some of the most valuable of existing works of art. Here are the Sistine Madonna of Ra- phael and Correggio's famous Notte (the night of the birth of Christ), with other works of both artists, and excellent speci- mens of the paintings of all the leaders of the great European schools. Titian, Andrea del Sarto, Paul Veronese, Giulio Romano, Guido Reni, Carlo Dolci, Leonardo da Vinci, and Annibale Carracci are among the Italian mas- ters represented; Rubens, Van Dyke, Douw, and Teniers among the Dutch ; and Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorraine among the French. The gallery is remarkably well arranged, and is of course free to the public, being open every day from 9 till 4 o'clock. A very curious and valuable collection of objects of art and of rare jewels and relics is that of "the Green Vault " (das griine Gcwolbe), named from the place of its deposit in the long range of vaulted rooms on the ground floor of the royal palace. Here have been brought together some of the most costly treasures in the world : rare carv- ings, some by Michel Angelo, and beautiful specimens of workmanship in gold, silver, pre- cious stones, amber, porcelain, enamel, ivory, and bronze. Immense sums have been spent upon this collection by the Saxon princes, es- pecially by those of the last century, who were the purchasers and contributors of the costliest articles. In the Japanese palace there are collections of antique sculpture, coins, china, and pottery, and miscellaneous objects of artistic and historic interest ; in the Z win- ger there is a large and valuable museum of natural history. The royal public library is also in the Japanese palace. In some de- partments it excels almost all other German libraries, its historical works being especial- ly numerous and noteworthy. It contains about 350,000 volumes, with nearly 200,000 pamphlets, and 3,000 manuscripts, besides about 2,000 incunabula. Other libraries are the Secundogenitur-Bibliothelc (a library de- scending in the younger branch of the royal family), the library of the academy of medi- cine and surgery, and that of the natural his- tory museum. The educational institutions of Dresden are numerous. There are two gym- nasia, a polytechnic school, a royal military academy (Cadettenhaus), and many public and private schools, Protestant and Cath- olic, and of various grades. Among institu- tions for charitable or disciplinary purposes are the foundling asylum, orphan asylum, re- form school for boys, the Pestalozzi institu- tion (Pestalozzistift}, the city hospital (400 beds), the Catholic hospital, and the asylum for deaf mutes and for the blind. The pros- perous condition of the institutions of art and science in the city is largely attributable to the efforts of the numerous artistic and learned societies existing here. At the head of these are the royal academy of arts and the Leopold- Caroline academy of investigators in natural science (Akademie der Naturforscher). Po- litical and trade societies are very numerous, and almost every branch of industry prominent in Dresden has its representation in one of these. The leading newspapers are the gov- ernment organ, the Dresdener Journal, the Con- stitutionelle Zeitung, and the Dresdener An- zeiger. The chief industries of Dresden are the manufacture of machinery (especially of agri- cultural machines of various kinds), mathe- matical and philosophical instruments, musi- cal instruments, gold and silver wares, china, and porcelain, the preparation of leather, and the manufacture of leather goods. The favor- able situation of the city with regard to the central region of northern Germany makes it the centre of a brisk trade, and the multitude of strangers constantly visiting the place large- ly contributes to its prosperity. Dresden was founded about 1206, and attained importance so rapidly that in 1216 it was mentioned as a city in official documents, and soon after it was taken under the direct government of the margrave of Meissen, after having previously been under the rule of the Meissen bishopric, for many years one of the richest and most powerful in Germany. In 1270 Dresden be- came the margrave's residence, but for only one generation, as the city was sold to Wen- ceslas of Bohemia, and afterward to the mar- grave of Brandenburg. In 1319 it again came into the possession of the house of Meissen, then represented by Frederick the Bitten. In 1485, when the margraviate was divided, Dres- den fell to the share of the margrave Albert, under whom it began to enjoy great prosper- ity. In 1491 it was almost entirely destroy- ed by fire ; but it was immediately rebuilt with many great improvements. It was for- tified in 1520-'28, and the fortifications were strengthened and enlarged in 1547. In 1553 the city was paved and greatly improved by