Germany Guide
Saxony
The Porzellan-Museum
Address: Talstrasse
Opening time: daily: May– Oct 9am–6pm; Nov– April till 5pm
Price: tours €8.50
The number-one destination of every tour group to Meissen is the Porzellan-Museum, 1.5km southwest of the centre, whose modern glass-skinned hall envelops an original villa; arrive early or at lunchtime to escape the worst of the crush. Augustus the Strong's china obsession is a tale of its own, the result of incarcerating alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger in his mightiest stronghold, the Königstein. While Dresden china – the first manufactured west of Asia – reflected the regent's aspirations to the omnipotence of oriental emperors, it was also intended to fill coffers: "my golden pheasant", as Augustus put it. The formula of Meissen china, branded by blue crossed swords, remains secret. Thirty-minute tours (English audio guides available take in a demonstration workshop of the four stages of hand-produced manufacture and the Schauhalle, which can be visited independently (€6). Its three thousand items span three centuries of manufacture in Meissen. Court artist Johann Joachim Kaendler stars, not least for the display's highlight, a 3.5m-high table decoration that graced the dining table of Augustus III. An on-site factory outlet stocks more china than a bull could smash – from the usual coquettish dolls and tea sets, to contemporary streamlined pieces influenced by Japan.