Kurländer Palais

The Kurländer Palais is a historic building on the eastern edge of Dresden's Inner Old Town, located on Tzschirnerplatz between the Carola Bridge and the Neumarkt. It was built in 1728 and 1729 by the architect Johann Christoph Knöffel for Count August Christoph von Wackerbarth. The building is considered the city's first Rococo house and stands out for its clear, noble façade with sparing ornamentation influenced by French classicist Baroque. Its asymmetrical layout of rooms is characteristic, favoring comfort over purely ceremonial display. The main façade is symmetrical and stately, crowned by a hipped roof with dormers and a triangular pediment above the central projection. Inside, you'll find spacious salons and a large ballroom reached through an enfilade, a room arrangement that was used here for the first time in Dresden.

The history of the palace is closely tied to the turmoil of World War II. During the air raids in February 1945, the building burned out completely and largely collapsed. While the ruin long remained the last war ruin in the Old Town, preservationists managed to save the surviving fragment of the façade and the historic cellar vaults. These vaults were later used by the Tonne jazz club, among others. After years of planning and delays, the building was reconstructed between 2006 and 2008. The secured historic remains were combined with modern construction methods, and archaeological finds such as remnants of the old irrigation system and chandelier fragments influenced the reconstruction.

Today the Kurländer Palais serves a variety of purposes. The ballroom, the palace courtyard, and the vaulted cellar are marketed for events, while other spaces are used by a fish restaurant and various companies as offices. Since 2015, the Tonne jazz club has been back in its original home in the cellar vaults. You can experience the elegant architecture and historic atmosphere of the site, which holds a special place in the cityscape thanks to its location near the Frauenkirche and the Albertinum.