This video is sponsored by Incogni. This absolutely stunning German city
was almost completely destroyed by a gruesome firebombing in World War II. But the nearly impossible happened
and it went from this to this. And even more beautiful buildings
might arise from the ashes. After the war, the city was almost turned
into yet another soulless, concrete wasteland like some other German cities. But instead, thanks to some fierce
local citizens and developers, they were able to rebuild the heart of this
city and restore it to its former glory. This is the story of
the rebirth of Dresden. Although they have come a long
way, they're not done yet. There is still opposition
against the reconstruction of some of its lost buildings. So the beauty and attractiveness
of Dresden is at stake. I traveled all the way to Eastern
Germany to capture the beauty of the city and got help of my friend Bart to
interview some of the key people who helped the city go from this to this. But why Dresden, you may ask? What made Dresden so special? Well, Dresden is not just a random city. It was called the Jewel Box, and even
Florence at the Alba, because of its stunning Baroque architecture, its rich
collection of art, and its history. The spires and domes of this capital city
of Saxony reflected in the river Alba. The city was housed to the Saxon electors
and kings, Saxony being one of the many states of the Holy Roman Empire,
and during the rule of Augustus the Strong in Augustus III of Poland, the
Baroque beauty of the city was built. Beauty is traced in speciality it
seems, there's just so much of it. The Tswinge Royal Palace, the Japanese
Palace, the Taschenberg Palais, the city castle, the Hofkirche
and of course the Frauenkirche. The kings also collected a wealth of art
for all the palaces and for the museums. In the 19th century the city became
the center of German Romanticism, with a number of famous names from
the movement working and living here. In that time the Semper Opera was
constructed as well, where Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss premiered their work. But the time of splendor
would soon come to an end. It's 1945 and Nazi Germany has overwhelmed
Europe with death and destruction. But Hitler was losing the war. With the war, Hitler and his
National Socialists had also brought destruction to German cities. Between the 13th and 15th of February
of 1945, squadrons of English Lancaster heavy bombers and American
B 17s appeared on the horizon. They were there for one purpose only. to drop more than 3, 900
tons of bombs on the city. There was little resistance. Most of the anti air defense had been
moved to other parts of the Reich. Wave after wave of bombs hit
the city, right in the center. The resulting firestorm
consumed everything. The fires were so hot, they pulled
all the oxygen out of the air. Those who didn't burn up, suffocated. Winds blew the fire over the city,
consuming everything in its path. Thousands of people were
killed, while almost 80, 000 dwellings had been destroyed. To this day, the attack on Dresden is
controversial, as the war was almost won, and the strategic importance of
hitting the historical city center, instead of only the factories and
the rail yards, wasn't as clear. In any case, the once beautiful
city was now in ruins. But before I tell all about how the
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or in the pinned comment. The city center, once bustling and full
of baroque buildings, was now in ruins. The population was set to work to remove
all the rubble, and soon it became an empty place where sheep were grazing. Many children born in Dresden
after the war were puzzled by the emptiness and the rubble. What had happened? The details of the firebombing were too
gruesome to share with these children. So what happened in Dresden
became, for many who were born after the war, a bit of a mystery. Like for Torsten Kuhlke, the
current chair of the organization that would lead a lot of the
rebuilding efforts, the Gesellschaft Historischer Neumarkt Dresden, or GHND. As a child I was fascinated by the ruins standing in the city At first there wasn’t a desire, but mostly questions questions about what had happened there At some point, the questions and
intrigue turned into a desire to restore what once was there. Some of the reconstruction
efforts, especially some of the most famous buildings, had already
started right when the war ended. The Zwinger for example, the Catholic
Hoofdkirche and later the Semperopera. Not all the buildings could be funded by
the DDR, which was substantially poorer than Western Germany, which in turn helped
financing some of the reconstructions. The socialist government had plenty
of other worries, like building enough housing for their workers. After the war, big parts of
the city were transformed. The inner part of the historical city
center was cleared of ruins and kept mostly empty, but further outside,
lots of space was needed for housing. Where once was a tight urban fabric
consisting of local townhouses, there was space for a new kind of
town planning, based on the car. In notorious DDR fashion, mass
housing was built for the workers. The typical standardized plattenbau. In the heart of the city there
was still a gaping wound. Some citizens already started
planning reconstruction efforts. And some projects were
finished, like the Muunskasse. But bigger and higher quality
restorations weren't possible yet. Happily enough, a big change would
soon stir everything up and bring new opportunities for Dresden. By the way, if you like this
video so far, please help us out by liking and subscribing. Thanks! In 1989, the Iron Curtain
finally came down. And a year later, Germany was reunified. The reunification brought a new chapter in
the rebuilding of the center of Dresden. More reconstruction projects
were started or resumed with more funds, like the palace. Although some buildings had
been rebuilt, the most iconic landmark was still in ruins. The Frauenkirche. The Baroque church had
survived a lot over the ages. Its dome had withstood 100
cannonballs fired by the Prussian army during the Seven Years War. The dome was so strong that the
projectile bounced right off. Unfortunately, the church could
not withstand the advanced high explosives from Second World War. And the fires the firestorm caused the
interior of the church to burn out at a church collapsed on February 15th, 1945. For decades, the symbol of dreesen was a
mere shadow of itself with the mountain of debris, a daily reminder of the war. In 1990, citizens organized the Call of
Dresden, or Der Ruf aus Dresden, a call to raise funds and rebuild the Frauenkirche
as a symbol for peace and reconciliation. And the call was heard. Just two years after reunification,
in 1992, the breakthrough decision was made to rebuild the church. This was a big deal, as it
kicked off similar reconstruction projects in other cities and
countries, like the Berlin Palace. In 1994, the foundation
stone was put in place. The crypt followed, and then the rest
of the church slowly started rising. People from all over the world
donated to make this happen. With the church getting
constructed, a question arose. What to do with the empty void
around it, the former Neumarkt? Should it just stay empty? Should it be rebuilt in a modernist
way, like the architects wanted? Or should it be restored like it was? It was in 1999 that a group of citizens
from Dresden decided that they wanted to make the city shine like it once did. They founded the GHND, the Society for
the Historical Neumarkt of Dresden. The GHND not only wanted to make the city
beautiful again out of nostalgia, Instead, they wanted to strengthen the city by
creating more housing, fixing the urban fabric, and increasing economic activity. The original urban fabric of the city
was damaged, and looking at other, less successful, modernist rebuilding efforts,
they felt the traditional urban fabric would be a better way to get the city feel
and function like a proper city again. Also, they knew how much the people from
Dresden yearned for having a beautiful place to drink their coffee, to do some
shopping and to just stroll around. But although the GHND knew their
plans would be popular, they still faced some major hurdles. First, they needed to convince the
skeptical city council that they had the required support of the people. A petition was launched. It was a huge effort to collect
the required 57, 600 signatures. Forms were distributed to over 100,
000 letterboxes, and it worked. They collected more signatures
than required, showing that they had the support of the people. The second hurdle to overcome
was a group of Architects. These architects wanted to create
something truly edgy, contrasting the beauty of the Vrouwenkirche and turn
the inner city into an experimental laboratory for avant garde architecture. Torsten Kulke describes the struggle. Because the architectural community wanted something new. and something 'contemporary'. And they always had this feeling that they were somehow stuck in the 70’s and now they really wanted to step on the gas and do something really creative. Of course, these two interests collided But we said at the time that this was only 1% of the urban area. All the other 99%, that's where architects can let off steam The experimental
laboratory never happened. In the end, a compromise was made. Most of the facades would be
true to the originals, but some facades would be modernist. The group of architects was satisfied. In order to build, you also need money,
and for money you go to investors. But who would want to invest in
something as ambitious as the reconstruction of the Neumarkt? Happily, at the time, there was at
least one investor in Dresden who was eager to help, Berndt Dietze. My name is Berndt Dietze, I'm director of Baywobau GmbH. in Dresden We have built a lot of residential buildings in Dresden ...but the most exciting buildings were of course those that we built in the center of Dresden And here on Neumarkt we were particularly active ...and it was a great pleasure to rebuild the historical buildings ...because there was nothing left here at all. And the best recognition is when people say 'you have renovated it beautifully' The building seemed
beautiful and thus costly. But in reality, they aren't
that much more expensive. Torsten Kuhlke explains. And now you have to realize that these buildings
here on Neumarkt are never that much effort. We don't have Bavarian baroque or great neoclassical façades here but relatively simple façades. And we are talking about the additional costs for the façades. They are between 3 and 5% The investors made construction possible,
and the third hurdle was overcome. Finally, one by one, the voids
at the Neumarkt were filled, and the end result is stunning. But is that the end of the story? No, because there is another important
place that used to be beautiful, but had been reduced to rubble. For that, we need to cross
the river Elbe and look at the other important baroque square. The current Neustadtermarkt
is a very open place. There is a wide traffic artery and DDR
era Plattenbau surrounds the square. In the middle is the statue of the
Golden Rider, which is a statue of Frederick August I, a lector of Saxony. This wide modern plaza is quite
different from the baroque square that used to be here before. Baroque housing flanked a much
smaller square with narrow streets leading to and from it. The GHND has launched a campaign to
turn this quaint place into another bustling city square, restoring
some of its stunning architecture. One of the projects is the Narrenhuizel,
right on the bridgehead of the August Bridge, named after the
court jester of Frederick August I, who used to live in the building. Frank Wiesner, a developer born and
raised in Dresden, is fighting to restore this building in full glory,
and is even willing to invest a lot of money to make this possible. I was born in Dresden and when you live here you get to see relatively well and live what it looks like now and of course you have the images of what the city looked like before 1945 And you feel a certain sense of loss, of pain, when you see how it used to be. and if you have your heart in the right place, you can't overlook the fact that it was of course much, much nicer and will be very difficult to ever bring it back. But rebuilding it isn't easy. Frank Wiesner has been fighting
for years to start this project, but due to bureaucratic resistance,
it still hasn't been built. For the rest of the Neustadtermarkt,
there's equal resistance. The GHND has made a great effort to
organize design competitions, do surveys among the population, and collect
signatures to show the wide support for reconstruction of the square. But the municipality doesn't seem to be
in any hurry to get the plans through. This is, in my opinion, baffling. It is crystal clear that restoration of
the Neumarkt has been an overwhelming success and has made the city
more attractive, leading to more visitors, business opportunities,
and a more livable center. Why doesn't the municipality of
Dresden support such a popular plan, that is literally handed to them, on
a silver platter, with cream on top? We can only hope that the
municipality of Dresden sees the opportunity and acts fast, as it's
so clearly in their best interest. Of course, there has been criticism
on the Gesellschaft's plans. There are three lines of criticism. One is political and kind of
superficial, and the other one is about protecting other types of heritage. The final critique is about whether it's
fake or even falsification of history. The first point of critique is one
we often hear when there isn't a real argument, that it is somehow
far right or even a Nazi thing to want to restore pre war buildings. Or, more general, to be in favor
of traditional architecture. Frank Wiesner shows
how ridiculous this is. So I also find it a really difficult criterion to accuse people who build with traditional forms of being somehow reactionary or even right-wing which is of course complete madness because it was of course the right-wing National Socialists who ultimately destroyed the cities with their initial war. And that is simply one thing where I say, I never think that's okay and that has to be confronted When we build a traditional house, we are normal people from the middle of society, neither right-wing nor left-wing radicals, but normal people who build their houses, Ultimately, the middle class, which is also the pillar of society We pay taxes, we have families, we have children, and that's what it's all about. The second argument against rebuilding
is that sometimes DDR era buildings will need to be replaced, or will be suddenly
surrounded by rebuilt Baroque buildings. One example are the prefabricated
flats at the Neustädter Markt, which are now protected DDR heritage, even
though they are in a pretty bad state. Torsten Kulke explains. The DDR reckoned that these prefabricated buildings would last around 40, 50 years and that has now been exceeded. Now they might be refurbished once, then refurbished for the second time, and then a phase will come where I think we will have to talk about dismantling it and the fact that this is not accepted by many at the moment is certainly also due to a certain nostalgia that the DDR is currently enjoying however, because I know this state and many of my younger colleagues don't, they have no idea what they are actually glorifying But there's no denying there were certain things that are worth preserving. Whether the prefabricated buildings at Neustädter Markt are among them, I have my doubts about that Time will tell what happens with the
DDR buildings at the Neustadtermarkt. There's good reason to keep some buildings
from all periods, but we have to be intelligent about which ones we keep. Especially in case of a key location
in the city like this, which could be turned into a warm, inviting and
bustling place, holding on to low quality prefab buildings is a strange choice. Perhaps an information sign to show how
it used to be can serve the same purpose. Also, there is an endless quantity of
DDR heritage left in the rest of Dresden. Anyway, I'm happy to hear your
opinions about this in the comments. Then the third and
final point of critique. And that is that the
reconstructions would be fake or even a falsification of history. It's true that some of the buildings
weren't fully reconstructed internally. This means that some only have
a Baroque façade pasted on. This is where some
people say, that's fake. But there's a twist. Having a façade stuck on is
far more common throughout history than one might think. The Romans, for example, were
experts at it, decorating brick walls with a marble veneer. If the Romans could do it and
we even see it as authentic, then why is it forbidden for us? Some say we shouldn't rebuild
what was bombed as it would be history falsification and we must
build things that are of our time. Well, the Neumarkt was built in our time
and as a result is by definition modern. It's not exactly like it was before. Maybe that's bad, but maybe it's better. Who knows? And who cares? People love it, so let's enjoy
this new Baroque Neumarkt. Before I forget... Gentrification, is that
simply what happened here? Well, nothing has been torn
down for these new buildings, because there was nothing there. In the noise data marked, if it wasn't
obvious yet, they can't replace the DDR housing, so they will build there using
road space and parts of the large square. So, housing will only be added, and
not converted or taken from anyone. Especially not affordable housing. So, after all we've seen of the rebuilding
of Dresden, what can we learn from this city and the people fighting for it? First of all, if you show that
you have the required support of the population, the seemingly
impossible suddenly becomes possible. But for that, you will need
to organize petitions, polls and do long term campaigning. And then, you might achieve
this too in your town, just like the GHND did in Dresden. Secondly, the cost benefit ratio
of restoring beautiful historical buildings can be very positive. The additional costs of the baroque
facades in Dresden, according to Torsten Kuhlke, were only 3 to 5
percent, but the effect was huge. Dresden is now a rapidly growing
city, and it has attracted many innovative companies. This is not all because of
the architecture, of course. It's partly done by investing in
good education, incentives, etc. But still, if you want to keep
talented people in your city, it needs to be attractive. People vote with their feet, so a
beautiful city will lead to more visitors, more business, and in the end,
more livability and happiness as well. Finally, find investors
with skin in the game. What do I mean by that? Well, you have anonymous overseas
investors without any connection to a place, and as you can probably
guess, they don't care about what they built and what it looks like. But there are also local developers, who
live in the same places where they built, and who have friends and family there,
like Berndt Dietze and Frank Wiesner. They will probably be willing to do much
more for that place, as they are part of the community, and they are your allies
in the fight for a more beautiful city. All in all, Dresden has turned out
very well, and it has inspired other places to rebuild their lost heritages
too, like in Berlin and Potsdam. But the fight isn't over. I'll be following the GHND's
progress closely, and if you want, you can donate to them. It is inspiring to see a city regain some
of its beauty after so much destruction and death, but more than that, it
is magical to see places that were dead and empty to come to life again. And I believe that Dresden offers
many lessons on how other cities could achieve the same thing. Thank you for watching. If you liked this, you'll love the
next video, about why architecture became so weird over time. First of all, a big
thank you to our patrons. Don't forget to check out the incognito
deal in the description, and I hope to see you in the next video.
