Meissen is located 25 km northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony , in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain , the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche. The GroBe Kreisstadt is the capital of the Meissen district.
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the firstEuropean hard-paste porcelain. The production of porcelain in the royal factory at started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish, arguably, the most famous porcelain manufacturer known throughout the world. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the swords is reportedly one of the oldest trademarks in existence.
Meissen grew out of the early Slavic settlement of Misni and was founded as a German town by King Henry the Fowler in 929. In 968 the Diocese of Meissen was founded, and Meissen became the episcopal seat of a bishop. The Catholic bishopric was suppressed in 1581 after the diocese accepted the Protestant Reformation (1559) but re-created in 1921 with its seat first at Bautzen and now in Dresden.
View of the Dom on the top of the hill.
The 13th-century Gothic Meissen Cathedral (Meißner Dom), whose chapel is one of the most famous burial places of the Wettin family. The hill on which the castle and the cathedral are built offers a view over the roofs of the old town.
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