Exhibition dates
Dresden greets its guests – and has made itself beautiful
Neighbourhood tour
Prager Strasse was built using a modern, consistent prefabricated construction method and was thus also orientated towards international modern architecture. Flats were integrated to enliven the new pedestrian zone, while hotels, shops, restaurants and a striking cinema characterised the ensemble. Artists developed their own techniques - adapted to the industrial construction method - such as ornamental textured bricks for façades and so-called "architectural walls" for the open space design. During the tour, participants will also gain insights into other works of art and designed open spaces along Prager Strasse.
With Antje Kirsch (Freie Akademie Kunst + Bau e.V.)
- Duration: 1.5 hours
- Meeting point at the Pusteblumenbrunnen fountain on Prager Straße
- Participation free of charge
- Registration online or at the visitor service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on +49 351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri)
Guided tour: PLATTE OST/ WEST. Living and building in large panel construction
Guided tour of the special exhibition
- Duration: 1.5 hours
- Meeting point at the ticket office
- Guided tour free of charge plus museum admission
- without registration
Note: Due to high demand, two tours are offered at the same time, which alternate between the two exhibition rooms. Both groups will receive an overview of the entire exhibition. Meeting point at the ticket office
Cycling through Hoyerswerda
Excursion with the ZfbK
Hoyerswerda - a centre of GDR architecture: all types of prefabricated buildings can be found there. Nowhere else in Saxony is there a comparable variety of large panelled buildings. From the mid-1950s to the completion of the large housing complexes in the 1980s, the new town was a single building site. It was designed on the drawing board as a socialist residential city for the workers of the Schwarze Pumpe power plant. However, when it closed in 1990 and the workforce moved away, the town began to shrink rapidly and entire housing complexes were "demolished" again. Since then, Hoyerswerda has undergone profound structural change, but is also full of ideas for the future thanks to a far-reaching urban development concept.
The bicycle excursion takes place in cooperation with the ZfBK - Centre for Building Culture Saxony and, in addition to the current urban development, focuses on the special features and construction phases of the residential complexes in Hoyerswerda's Neustadt district, which we will explore by bicycle.
- Start: 9.45 am, Hoyerswerda railway station (old town)
- End: approx. 6.30 pm, Hoyerswerda railway station (Old Town)
- Cost: €20 per person (cash on site)
- Please register at anmeldung@zfbk.de with your name and telephone number
Guided tour: PLATTE OST/ WEST. Living and building in large panel construction
Guided tour of the special exhibition
- Duration: 1.5 hours
- Meeting point at the ticket office
- Guided tour free of charge plus museum admission
- without registration
Note: Due to high demand, two tours are offered at the same time, which alternate between the two exhibition rooms. Both groups will receive an overview of the entire exhibition. Meeting point at the ticket office
International Museum Day at the City Museum
Free admission to the exhibitions
On International Museum Day, we invite you to visit our exhibitions free of charge.
- Platte OST / WEST. Living and building in large panel construction
- 800 years of Dresden. History(s) from the beginnings to the present day
- Grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann. The chess legend from Dresden (presentation on the gallery gallery)
- The Eternal Scripture - A Torah for Dresden (public cultural project of the Jewish Community of Dresden)
Guided tours on International Museum Day
PLATTE EAST/ WEST. Living and building in large panel construction
- Duration: 1 hour
- Meeting point at the ticket office
- Registration online or at the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on +49 351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri)
Plate? Yes, please! Conversion and refurbishment of prefabricated buildings in Gorbitz
Neighbourhood tour
The Gorbitz prefabricated housing estate, which was built in the 1980s, has changed bit by bit over the past 25 years. Where once one block resembled another, today there is diversity, not only in the form of colourful facades, but also inside the buildings. Lifts, bathrooms with showers and windows, spacious kitchens, new balconies, tenants' gardens - all this can now be found in the "Platte" thanks to modernisations and conversions.
One outstanding and well-known conversion project is the Kräutersiedlung, which was realised between 2002 and 2004 by the Eisenbahner-Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft Dresden eG. But a lot has also happened in Gorbitz since then, and construction is still ongoing in several places.
The guiding principle has always been to preserve the strengths of prefabricated housing (e.g. spacious, green inner courtyards and compact structures) while at the same time eliminating disadvantages (e.g. small kitchens and bathrooms, six-storey buildings without lifts).
The tour leads to selected converted residential buildings and is intended to illustrate the potential of prefabricated housing and its future viability using the example of Gorbitz.
With Konstanze Mally
- Duration: 2 hours
- Meeting point at the Merianplatz tram stop (out-of-town side)
- Participation free of charge
- Registration online or at the visitor service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on +49 351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri)
Exhibition offers
A house from the factory!
Interactive tour for primary schools
What are prefabricated buildings? And what is actually special about them? In the City Museum's special exhibition, you can find out how this type of construction came about and why there are so many prefabricated buildings.
Primary school KU [ Kl. 1-4. LB 1], [ Kl. 1-2. WB 2], [Kl. 4 LB 2, WB 2], SU [Kl. 2-4 LB 5]
€5 per person, accompanying persons receive free admission
Practical modules can be booked to build on the tour.
about the exhibition
Living space "Platte" – Building and living in East and West
Educational programme for secondary schools and grammar schools
The event focuses on the development of prefabricated housing in East and West Germany. What characterises prefabricated housing? What is in its favour? What are the arguments against it? What is it like to live in prefabricated housing? And what potential does this type of construction have in the future?
After a brief introduction to the exhibition, the pupils work independently in small groups on selected key topics and exhibits.
Secondary school [Year 7 KU LB 2] [Year 8 KU LB 2] [Year 9 KU LB 2] [Year 10 KU LB2] [Year 9 GE WB] [Year 10 GE WB]
Grammar school [Year 7 KU LB 2] [Year 8 KU LB 2] [Year 11/12 KU GK LB 2] [Year 11/12 KU GK WB 11/12 KU GK WB 2] [Kl. 11/12 KU LK LB 2] [Kl. 11/12 KU LK WB 2] [Kl. 10 GE LB 2] [Kl. 10 GE WB 2] [Kl. 10 GE WB 3] [Kl. 11/12 GE GK LB 3][Kl. 11 GE LK LB 1] [cl. 11 GE LK LB 2] [cl. 12 Geo GK LB 4] [cl. 12 Geo LK LB 6]
€5 per person, accompanying persons receive free admission
Practical modules can be booked to build on the tour.
to the exhibition
Practical module 1: More than concrete – slab production
Can only be booked in combination with the interactive tour or the event "Lebensraum Platte - Bauen und Wohnen in Ost und West "
How does a slab factory actually work? How are concrete slabs made? What materials are used? And how can the slabs be decorated? In the museum workshop, pupils try out various casting and finishing techniques with plaster in order to develop an understanding of the manufacturing processes and the materiality of the components.
Oberschule [Kl. 7 KU LB 2] [Kl. 8 KU LB 2]
Gymnasium [Kl. 7 KU LB 2] [Kl. 8 KU LB 2]
€1 per person, accompanying persons receive free admission
to the exhibition
Practical module 2: More than grey walls – panel design
Bookable only in combination with the interactive tour or the event "Lebensraum Platte - Bauen und Wohnen in Ost und West "
Not all prefabricated buildings are grey and monotonous. Components are often creatively designed: "Platte" slabs have textures and patterns, they are coloured or decorated with coloured ceramic tiles. Moulded concrete blocks characterise facades, walls and terraces with their geometric shapes. In the museum workshop, pupils experiment with different techniques and materials to creatively design "Platte".
Oberschule [Kl. 7 KU LB 2] [Kl. 8 KU LB 2]
Gymnasium [Kl. 7 KU LB 2] [Kl. 8 KU LB 2]
1 € per person, accompanying persons receive free admission
to the exhibition
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