The biggest steam engine spectacle in Germany

Many only know Dresden as a city of Baroque splendor and top-class cultural institutions such as the Semper Opera and the State Art Collections. But Dresden also played a major part in the development of steam trains and other means of transport in Germany. It was here that the Dresden-built ‘Saxonia’ started its journey to Leipzig in 1839 on the first long-distance railroad in Germany. Here you can find the Mountain Cableway in Dresden’s Loschwitz Hills, the Transport Museum with its historical vehicle collection and the oldest and biggest paddle-steamer fleet in the world. For ten years now, over 30,000 rail fans young and old have been meeting in May for the Dresden steam engine festival, the biggest steam engine spectacle in Germany, enjoying the special trips on trains from Dresden and elsewhere. The German Railroads Museum in the rail factory of Dresden-Altstadt is also popular with visitors. The exhibition includes five original locomotives. The steam engine 89 6009 makes regular special trips.

Sideline attractions

• hiking tours in Saxon Switzerland to Europe’s largest fortress complex, Königstein or to the famous Bastei Rocks

• excursions into the nearby historic towns of Radebeul, Meissen and Pirna

• visits to the Semper Opera, State Art Collections with the Galleries of Old and Modern Masters, the Green Vault treasury musuam and other noteworthy collections

• a trip on the oldest and biggest paddle-steamer fleet in the world

• a stroll through the historical old town of Dresden