Geography

Main article: Geography and urban development of Dresden Location Saxon Switzerland a few kilometers outside of Dresden

Dresden lies on both banks of the Elbe River, mostly in the Dresden Basin, with the further reaches of the eastern Ore Mountains to the south, the steep slope of the Lusatian granitic crust to the north, and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to the east at an altitude of about 113 metres (371 feet). Triebenberg is the highest point in Dresden at 384 metres (1,260 feet).

With a pleasant location and a mild climate on the Elbe, as well as Baroque-style architecture and numerous world-renowned museums and art collections, Dresden has been called "Elbflorenz" (Florence of the Elbe). The incorporation of neighbouring rural communities over the past 60 years has made Dresden the fourth largest urban district by area in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne.

The nearest German cities are Chemnitz 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the southwest, Leipzig 100 kilometres (62 miles) to the northwest and Berlin 200 kilometres (120 miles) to the north. Prague, Czech Republic is about 150 kilometres (93 miles) to the south and to the east 200 kilometres (120 miles) is the Polish city of Breslau/ Wrocław.

Nature

Dresden is one of the greenest cities in all of Europe, with 63% of the city being green areas and forests. The Dresden Heath (Dresdner Heide) to the north is a forest 50 km2 in size. There are four nature reserves. The additional Special Conservation Areas cover 18 km2. The protected gardens, parkways, parks and old graveyards host 110 natural monuments in the city. The Dresden Elbe Valley is a former world heritage site which is focused on the conservation of the cultural landscape in Dresden. One important part of that landscape is the Elbe meadows, which cross the city in a 20 kilometre swath. Saxon Switzerland is an important nearby location.

Climate

Dresden has a humid continental climate (Dfb), with hotter summers and colder winters than the German average. The average temperature in February is −1.7 °C (28.94 °F) and in July 18.1 °C (64.6 °F). The inner city temperature is 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) averaged over the year. The driest months are February and March, with precipitation of 40 mm (1.6 in). The wettest months are July and August, with 61 mm (2.4 in) per month.

The microclimate in the Elbe valley differs from that on the slopes and in the higher areas. Klotzsche, at 227 metres above sea level, hosts the Dresden weather station. The weather in Klotzsche is 1 to 1 to 3 °C (1.8 to 5.4 °F) colder than in the inner city.

Climate data for Dresden Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C (°F) 1 (34) 1 (34) 7 (45) 12 (54) 17 (63) 21 (70) 22 (72) 22 (72) 18 (64) 13 (55) 6 (43) 3 (37) 12 (54) Daily mean °C (°F) −0.5 (31.1) −1.5 (29.3) 3 (37) 7 (45) 12 (54) 16 (61) 17 (63) 17 (63) 14 (57) 9.5 (49.1) 4 (39) 1.5 (34.7) 8 (46) Average low °C (°F) −2 (28) −4 (25) −1 (30) 3 (37) 8 (46) 11 (52) 13 (55) 13 (55) 10 (50) 6 (43) 2 (36) 0 (32) 5 (41) Rainfall mm (inches) 30 (1.18) 20 (0.79) 30 (1.18) 50 (1.97) 60 (2.36) 80 (3.15) 80 (3.15) 70 (2.76) 50 (1.97) 40 (1.57) 30 (1.18) 40 (1.57) 580 (22.83) Avg. rainy days 4 3 4 6 6 7 9 5 5 5 3 5 62 Mean monthly sunshine hours 52.2 73.5 121.6 135.8 190.4 179.7 205.0 182.0 142.7 118.0 56.9 49.6 1,507.4 Source: Weatherbase (Europe:Germany:Dresden)

source 2 = Data derived from Deutscher Wetterdienst

Flood protection

Because of its location on the banks of the Elbe, into which some water sources from the Ore Mountains flow, flood protection is important. Large areas are kept free of buildings to provide a flood plain. Two additional trenches, about 50 metres wide, have been built to keep the inner city free of water from the Elbe, by dissipating the water downstream through the inner city's gorge portion. Flood regulation systems like detention basins and water reservoirs are almost all outside the city area.

The Weißeritz, normally a rather small river, suddenly ran directly into the main station of Dresden during the 2002 European floods. This was largely because the river returned to its former route; it had been diverted so that a railway could run along the river bed.

Many locations and areas need to be protected by walls and sheet pilings during floods. A number of districts become waterlogged if the Elbe overflows across some of its former floodplains.

Flood in 2002

Semperoper during 2005 floods

Elbe Flood in April 2006

Dresden Skyline in 2006

Dresden under water in June 2013

City structuring Großer Garten in Dresden

Dresden is a spacious city. Its districts differ in their structure and appearance. Many parts still contain an old village core, while some quarters are almost completely preserved as rural settings. Other characteristic kinds of urban areas are the historic outskirts of the city, and the former suburbs with scattered housing. During the German Democratic Republic, many apartment blocks were built. The original parts of the city are almost all in the districts of Altstadt (Old town) and Neustadt (New town). Growing outside the city walls, the historic outskirts were built in the 18th century. They were planned and constructed on the orders of the Saxon monarchs, which is why the outskirts are often named after sovereigns. From the 19th century the city grew by incorporating other districts. Dresden has been divided into ten districts called "Ortsamtsbereich" and nine former boroughs ("Ortschaften") which have been incorporated.

Demographics Significant foreign born populations Country of Birth Population (2012)  Russia 1,923  Vietnam 1,696  China 1,662  Ukraine 1,535  Poland 1,308

The population of Dresden reached 100,000 inhabitants in 1852, making it the third German city to reach that number. The population peaked at 649,252 in 1933, but dropped to 450,000 in 1946 as the result of World War II, during which large residential areas of the city were destroyed. After large incorporations and city restoration, the population grew to 522,532 again between 1950 and 1983.

Since German reunification, demographic development has been very unsteady. The city has had to struggle with migration and suburbanization. The population increased to 480,000 as a consequence of several incorporations during the 1990s, but it fell to 452,827 in 1998. Between 2000 and 2010, the population grew quickly by more than 45,000 inhabitants (about 9.5%) due to a stabilized economy and reurbanization. Along with Munich and Potsdam, Dresden is one of the ten fastest-growing cities in Germany, while the population of the surrounding new federal states is still shrinking. The population of the city of Dresden is 523,058 (2010), the population of the Dresden agglomeration is 780,561 (2008), and the population of Region Dresden (which includes the neighbouring districts of Meißen, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge and the western part of the district of Bautzen) is 1,143,197 (2007). Today Dresden is one of the few German Cities which have more inhabitants than ever since World War II.

In Dresden, about 51.3% of the population is female. Foreigners account for about 4%. The mean age of the population is 43 years, which is the lowest among the urban districts in Saxony.

Ancestry Number Germans 91% Other European 5% Turkish 0.2% Asians 1% Africans 0.7% Other/Mixed 2.1%