Dresden's 'balcony': A tour of the Weisser Hirsch district

Jan 19, 2010, 3:27 GMT

Dresden - 'What I liked to do best was to sit atop the garden walls and watch the hustle and bustle on the Albertplatz,' wrote German novelist Erich Kaestner in his novel, 'Als ich ein kleiner Junge war' (when I was a small lad).

'The streetcars which travelled to the old town, to the Weisser Hirsch, the Neustaedter train station and to Klotzsche and Hellerau, would stop right in front of my eyes, as if they were doing it just for me.'

The Dresden-born writer spent a large part of his youth in the Augustin villa of his Uncle Franz. Today, there is a small Kaestner museum there. And to this day, many streetcar lines intersect at the Albertplatz square.

Those who board a Line 11 streetcar heading in the direction of Buehlau will have an easy ride to the Weisser Hirsch (white deer) district, the one which has now cost Dresden its status as a world heritage site with UNESCO (over a dispute about plans for a new bridge).

Then come the former grounds of the erstwhile East German secret police, the Stasi, who had their district administration and a detention prison here. Today, a memorial site recalls the individual fates of the political prisoners and the interrogation methods of the Stasi agents.

Halfway to Weisser Hirsch, three Elbe River castles, imposing in their setting on the Elbe valley slopes, invite visitors to make a stop.

First is the Schloss Albrechtsberg palace, which recalls the famous Villa Medici in Florence. Next to it is the Lingner Schloss, which the businessman Karl August Lingner donated to the city of Dresden. The third is the Tudor-style Schloss Eckberg, which today is a hotel.

Further on, the Line 11 streetcar crosses the Mordgrund bridge over the Elbe River and then starts its steep rise up to the Weisser Hirsch spa.

There, travel guide Saskia Koehler is awaiting her guests at the Plattleite street. In Uwe Tellkamp's novel 'Der Turm' (the tower), this street was called Turmstrasse. That this book about Dresdner's intelligentsia in the final years of the former East Germany would become such a successful best-seller is something Saskia Koehler could not have imagined.

The settlement of the area began in the 17th Century, visitors taking Koehler's tour are informed. 'Back then, they established vineyards and taverns, including the 'Schenke Zum Weissen Hirsch',' Koehler reports, referring to one landmark tavern.

Soon, the area developed into a popular summertime recreation destination for Dresden's city residents. Over time, it became a spa which drew international visitors. The soap manufacturer Ludwig Kuenzelmann had a spa hotel built and had converted a nearby heath into a forested park.

The area's further development was led by the medical doctor Heinrich Lahmann, who established a sanatorium in 1888. In order to supply the spa guests with fresh vegetables, he even purchased a farm on the outskirts of the city. His concept attracted visitors from around the world. In 1899, the area became connected into Dresden's streetcar network.

The Weisser Hirsch area was spared in the Allies' firebombing of Dresden in February 1945. But many of the wealthy villa owners later had to flee from the Soviet Red Army or saw their properties confiscated. Large comfortable apartments became crowded with several tenants.

But all the same, the district had its attraction, particularly for the intellectuals. Tellkamp in his novel graphically depicts how the intelligentsia - for whom there was no place under Socialism - established a lifestyle involving home music concerts, lectures and intellectual debates.

'Truth and fiction merged together,' tour guide Koehler said about some of the settings in Tellkamp's novel. 'But some places can be specifically located.' This applies, for example, to the 'Tausendaugenhaus' (thousand-eyes house), a villa in Art Deco style in the Hietzigstrasse, whose wrought-iron garden fence provides the decoration on the cover of Tellkamp's book.

Further information: www.marketing.dresden.de.