Dresden city models: On the interrelation of virtual reconstructions and the image of a city

The city of Dresden is well known in Europe due to its destruction in the Second World War and the reconstruction of the famous Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady) after German reunification. Even beyond the borders of Germany the city is considered a “Baroque Beauty”, but in reality, buildings which are Baroque in substance are hard to find. In fact this image is mainly based on images of the past: Canaletto´s paintings of the mid-18th century, historical photographs and three-dimensional representations. A number of city models of Dresden dating from the first half of 16th century to the present exist or are documented in photographs. The sources of these models and the image they convey merit investigation. Digital models in particular - which, unlike physical models, are no longer locally bound - influence external perceptions of the city. At the same time, they also alter Dresden´s self-perception: in the new buildings around the Frauenkirche, for example, models seem to have become built reality. On the other hand, digital models are also called upon to collect and unite the sources of knowledge about a city. Years of research often go into generating digital reconstructions. Yet by setting key parameters such as the period and the design as well as the center and the borders of the model, they also shape the image of history they are intended to document. To describe the effect these operations can have on the image of a city, different models of Dresden are analyzed according to their content and style as well as their reception.