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 myth of Countess Cosel
On the reception history of Anna Constantia von Brockdorff (1680-1765)
She was the most famous mistress of the Saxon Elector and King of Poland, Augustus the Strong, and symbolises the fertile era of the Augustan Baroque with the Saxon-Polish Union. Countess Cosel's beauty, charm and wit were praised. But like few other people in the history of Saxony, she was a mixture of truth and fiction, legend and reality - the perfect breeding ground for a myth that the countess herself helped to create.
- With Jens Gaitzsch, SBG Sachsen gGmbH, Stolpen Castle
- 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 (MO - FR).
August in the time machine
Saxon history in the novels of J. I. Kraszewski and their film adaptations
In his Saxon Trilogy, the writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski chose the story of Augustus II and III and the Saxon-Polish Union as his subject, which dates back around 100 years. Again around 100 years later, in the former GDR, this material was turned into a film. This results in very different and surprising perspectives on the story.
- With Dr Franziska Müller, Museums of the City of Dresden
- 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 (MO - FR).
Saxony's glamour made of papier-mâché and fantasy
The Saxon filming for Kraszewski's Saxony trilogy
The six-part television film "Saxony's Splendour and Prussia's Glory" from 1985 was the most elaborate and expensive production in the history of DEFA. The quality of the script, the splendour of the set and the quality of the actors and actresses are still fascinating today.
The filming was unusually costly because the search for suitable locations was not easy. Many of the locations had been destroyed and had not yet been rebuilt at the time of production. This meant that other locations had to be used as replacements, especially for the Residenzschloss, which no longer exists.
If you watch these films today and are familiar with Dresden and the surrounding area, they are a double journey into the past - into the era of Augustus the Strong and into the GDR of the 1980s. Join us on an exciting and amusing search for the small mistakes at the edge of the picture and the director's tricks to recreate a world that no longer existed.
- Narrated by Dr Stephan Reher
- 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).
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).
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).
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.