40 years ago, at Christmas 1985, the television multi-part "Saxony's Splendour and Prussia's Glory" was broadcast for the first time. It was the most elaborate film production in the GDR. Less well known is the Polish film production "Countess Cosel" (1960) by Jerzy Antczak. This in turn was the most cost-effective production of Polish cinematography to date.
»We embark on a journey through 300 years of history as well as the history of literature and film. The exhibition provides insights into the creation of the books and films and shows the different perspectives they take on. Visitors will discover how each era tells history anew - and how our view of the past is constantly changing.«
Exhibition dates
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
How a historical drama about Prussia became a cult film in the GDR
The television film series *Sachsens Glanz und Preußens Gloria* is more than just a piece of television history. It shows that, in the 1980s, East German television moved away from ideological subject matter and instead produced opulent historical dramas. Drawing on this successful multi-part series, the lecture offers insights into the role of television in the late GDR.
- With Dr Thomas Beutelschmidt
- Admission: €10, concessions €8
- Please book in good time online or by telephone via the visitor service of the City of Dresden Museums on 0351 488 7272 (Mon–Fri).
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
Music at the Wettin court in Dresden and Warsaw
Concert programme
The concert programme combines music from the time of the Saxon-Polish Union, when the polonaise dance was incorporated into the ceremonies of the Dresden court and became a symbol of the royal crown. The harpsichord sonatas by Christlieb Siegmund Binder (1723-1789), one of the most interesting Dresden composers of the 18th century, alternate with Polish polonaises by Józef Kozłowski, Karol Kurpiński, Antoni Leopold and Józef Elsner.
- With Paulina Tkaczyk-Cichoń, Krakow
- Admission: €15, reduced €12
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
The Splendour of Saxony and the Glory of Prussia – Power and Myth
Film screening as part of the special exhibition
Kerstin Mauersberger’s 2021 documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the film adaptation of the ‘Saxony Trilogy’ by the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The director shows the enormous effort that went into reconstructing the lost Baroque city of Dresden in Prague and Leningrad, and how the film series came to define a region’s identity.
- Running time: 45 or 90 minutes (The audience can decide.)
Shards bring luck!
History(ies) around the white gold
In the 17th century, aristocrats and wealthy burghers prized thin-walled and lavishly designed items made of swan-white porcelain, which were an ornament to any table. However, the secret of production at that time was kept in the distant lands of East Asia. How did Dresden finally succeed in developing European hard porcelain? Stories and anecdotes surround its invention and the endeavour to make Saxon porcelain world famous.
- With Lutz Reike, Museums of the City of Dresden
- Admission: €6, reduced €4
- Please book in good time online or by calling the visitor service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
Countess Cosel through the Polish double spectacles
The film adaptation of the Kraszewski novel by director Jerzy Antczak from 1968
The Saxon trilogy by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski inspired directors on both sides of the Polish-German border to make films about the time of the Wettin dynasty's rule at the Saxon-Polish court. The well-known cult film "Saxony, Splendour and Prussian Glory" was preceded by a Polish production from 1986. Bernd Karwen reveals the circumstances under which director Jerzy Antczak shot the Polish version of "Countess Cosel" and who was cast in the role.
- With Bernd Karwen, Leipzig
- Admission: €10, reduced €8
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
Swans in White and Gold. The Story of a Family
Author reading
The descendant of the politician Heinrich Graf von Brühl tells the story of the unique swan service made of Meissen porcelain that he once commissioned. Its fragility holds enormous symbolic value, whilst its history offers a journey of discovery dedicated to the transience of fame and wealth, the magic of ‘white gold’, and the power of memory.
- With Dr Christine Countess von Brühl
- Admission: €10, concessions €8
- Please book in good time online or by telephone via the visitor service of the Dresden City Museums on 0351 488 7272 (Mon–Fri).
Saxony's splendour and Prussia's glory
The film, the story and Kraszewski's novels
- With Lutz Reike, Museums of the City of Dresden
- Museum admission plus € 3 guide fee
Exhibition offers
"Saxony's Splendour and Prussia's Glory" – the film, the story and Kraszewski's novels
More than 300 years ago, Elector Frederick Augustus I, known as "Augustus the Strong", was crowned King of Poland. He and subsequently his son ruled the country until 1763, which later prompted the Polish writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, who lived in Dresden, to focus on this period in several novels. His descriptions in turn formed the basis for the creation of the largest film production of the GDR in 1885: "Saxony's Splendour and Prussia's Glory". Join us for a lecture and tour of the Kraszewski Museum's special exhibition on the traces of the Augustan period, Kraszewski's literary version and the creation of the film.