The name of is a synonym for art and culture. The Saxon capital offers cultural and art treasures of European rank, world-famous art collections and also a lively theatre and music scene. Architectural jewels blend into a charming natural landscape. The fine and applied arts look back on a long tradition of extraordinary quality. The rich variety of cultural activities characterizes the proud and creative atmosphere in and is an essential component of the high quality of life in the city. The 800 year old Baroque town on the river Elbe and its surroundings offer a variety of different sightseeing opportunities: the beautiful Zwinger, the Old Masters Pictures Gallery, the Green Vault with the Royal treasury, the majestic Palace, the Semper Opera House, the Cathedral, the castles of Moritzburg, Meißen and Pillnitz, the Porcelain Manufactory in Meißen, the fortification of Königstein and a steamboat tour on the river to the Saxon Switzerland are only a few examples of possibilities is offering its guests.
The fine arts have enjoyed long traditions in . Even back in the Middle Ages, important artists of that time were active in with commissions from the Saxon court. One of its most illustrious teachers was Bernardo Bellotto (1721 – 1780), better known as Canaletto, the painter of the world famous town scapes of . Nearly 100 museums are awaiting you. is also a town of science and can offer a full spectrum of high education in a lot of institutes and faculties, e.g. the College of Fine Arts, the College of Music or the College of Technology and Economics. The most famous institution is the Technische Universität (TU ), founded in 1828, which not only ranks among the oldest technical universities in Germany, but also among the most important ones as far as research is concerned.
With its 35 thousands students and almost 4,000 employees, among them 438 professors, it is the largest university in Saxony, including the Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, founded in 1993. Having been committed to the natural sciences and the engineering sciences until the reunification of Germany, TU has developed significantly in the last 15 years due to the new faculties of social sciences and medicine. With its 14 faculties it now offers a broad scientific spectrum which only few universities in Germany are able to match.
