Brühlsche Terrasse

Europe's balcony

The Brühlsche Terrasse in Dresden – anyone who strolls along the preserved military fortifications of Dresden, which was converted into a promenade for civilians on the orders of Heinrich, the Earl of Brühl in the mid 18th century, will understand that its nickname "Europe's balcony" is no exaggeration.

Brühlsche Terrasse

The Brühlsche Terrasse is a unique horticultural site, located as it is on a former military site, the Elbe wall of what was once the city's fortifications.

Friedrich August II's cabinet minister, Heinrich Earl of Brühl, gave the terraces their name. In 1739 his Elector gave him the first section of the wall as a present and in subsequent years he commissioned the architect Johann Christoph Knöffel to convert them into an enclosed area for exclusive noble society. Its appearance has of course altered over time. The Sekunogenitur, which was once the Earl's library is the only remaining architecture feature from the time of Brühl's conversion. Its vast collection of around 62 000 volumes means that it was in the same league as the university libraries of Leipzig and Wittenberg.

The terraces with its unique ensemble of landscape gardening and architecture are now one of Dresden's most important promenade stretches. Its nickname "Europe's Balcony" is as relevant today as it ever was.