Meissen

Meissen is a town of about 30,000 people on both banks of the River Elbe in the Free State of Saxony in eastern Germany, about 25 kilometers northwest of Dresden, and serves as the administrative seat of the Meissen district. Originating from a Polabian Slavic settlement, it grew around the fortress of Misnia founded by King Henry the Fowler around 929, and the Margraviate of Meissen was established in 965 by Emperor Otto I; the town was capital of the Electorate of Saxony from 1423 until the seat moved to Dresden in 1464. As of 31 December 2024 it had 28,753 inhabitants, and it is renowned as the home of Meissen porcelain, the first high quality porcelain produced outside East Asia, first manufactured there in 1710, alongside the Albrechtsburg castle, built between 1472 and 1525, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral, and the surrounding Saxon wine region.