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.
The material was provided by the "Saxon Trilogy" by the Polish writer and journalist Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. Kraszewski had come to Dresden around 100 years earlier, in 1863. He lived here in exile for 22 years. In his novels "Countess Cosel", "Brühl" and "From the Seven Years' War", he depicts Saxon-Polish history and its protagonists - as an author and historian, as a Pole and a resident of Dresden.
The novels are set in the "Saxon era": from 1697 to 1763, the Electorate of Saxony and the Kingdom of Poland were ruled in personal union by Augustus II and then by his son Augustus III. The exhibition presents legendary personalities such as Augustus the Strong, Countess Cosel and Count Heinrich von Brühl and provides an insight into Baroque courtly life and its festive culture.
Director Hans-Joachim Kasprzik and scriptwriter Albrecht Börner have been working on the material, the novels and the Augustan period since the 1970s. The success of "Saxony's Splendour and Prussia's Glory" proved them right to turn it into a film set in a completely different political system.
»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.«
The Saxon-Polish Union was viewed differently from a Polish and a German perspective and at different times. The rule of the Wettin dynasty left its mark on the states and the courts in Dresden and Warsaw.
The exhibition looks at the historical period of the Saxon-Polish Union and follows the historical stages on Polish and German territory. It presents the protagonists in history, novels and films. She takes a close look at Kraszewski's novels as well as the background and the making of the films. How were the films made? How did the Polish writer Kraszewski view and judge Augustus the Strong and the Saxon-Polish court? And what was life like at the Polish court, which the Wettins ruled from 1697 to 1763?
The exhibition features numerous loans from Saxon and Polish collections, including paintings, prints, original film costumes as well as medals, posters and editions of books by Kraszewski and other Saxon novelists from the 19th century.
about the exhibition at MDR
Exhibition dates
Swans in white and gold. The story of a family
Author reading
The descendant of the politician Count Heinrich von Brühl tells of the unique swan service made of Meissen porcelain that he once had made. Its fragility has an enormous symbolic value, its history enables a journey of discovery dedicated to the transience of fame and possessions, the magic of "white gold" and the power of memory.
- With Dr Christine Gräfin von Brühl
- Admission: €12, reduced €10
- 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).