Meissen

Meissen stands on the Elbe beneath a hill crowned by the Albrechtsburg and the cathedral. Its origins lie in the Slavic settlement of Meisa and a fortress founded by King Henry the Fowler in 929. A bishopric was established in 968, and Meissen became the centre of a frontier march that passed to the Wettin dynasty in 1089. The Gothic cathedral, begun in 1260, shares the confined summit with the castle.

Meissen received town rights in 1332. The Wettins' power grew beyond their old march, and their principal residence eventually moved to Dresden. The Reformation changed the bishopric, which was suppressed in 1581. In the eighteenth century Meissen became famous for porcelain: the Saxon court established its manufacture in the Albrechtsburg, making the castle a centre of a craft whose products travelled far beyond the Elbe valley.