After visiting the birthplace of the European porcelain in Meißen, the nearby city of Dresden was next. There are lots of historical ceramics in this beautifull city. In “Florence on the Elbe” houses one of the largest porcelain collections of the world.

This collection was founded by the Imperial Vicar of Saxony August der Starke in the early 18th century. His porcelain collection was originally exhibited in the Japanische Palais.  After the 2nd world war, the Zwinger Museum became it’s new home.
The collection consists of Chinese and Japanese porcelain from the 14th century. There is also the largest historical overview of Meissen’s porcelain (1710 – 1815). Including the  animal collection that was exclusively made for the Imperial Vicar.

The Rehbocktal was our camping site just between Meißen and Dresden along the Elbe cycle route. A great opportunity to explore this route on bike to Dresden (about 23 kilometers along the Elbe). A beautiful path along a number of “biergartens” where fortunately coffee is also an option.
Continue reading Historic porcelain and contemporary ceramics in Dresden →

Porcelain “white gold” has a long and fascinating history. The origin of this refined ceramic is in China. But it is not entirely clear when the first ‘real’ Porcelain has been discovered.

According to which definition you chooce, it is assumed that this white and translucent ceramic material, porcelain as we now know it, was produced from  about 700. Chinese potters in that period had kilns that could reach the high temperature of about 1300° C (2370° F) needed to fire porclain. In addition, the right raw materials were also available.

As early as the 13th century this kind of ceramics has been coming to Europe, with other commercial goods from the East. From about the 16th century porcelain was imported on a large scale. The demand for these spectacular new ceramics had grown. This led to a “rat race” across Europe to unravel the secret. At the beginning of the 18th century this European competition was finally settled in Meißen. In my previous blog I wrote about this.

This summer we also wanted to discover the birthplace of European porcelain. Fortunately, the white gold can be found between green, along the beautiful Elbe cycle route (Elberadweg). A great opportunity for a new exploration trip on bike.

Continue reading Meißen: White gold in between green →