Kunsthofpassage
The Kunsthofpassage is a group of connected courtyards in Dresden's Äußere Neustadt, between Alaunstraße and Görlitzer Straße, with five courtyards each designed around its own theme.
What it is
The passage runs between Alaunstraße 70 and Görlitzer Straße 21–25, and is also known for short as the Kunsthof. The five courtyards are the Hof der Elemente, Hof der Fabelwesen, Hof des Lichts, Hof der Metamorphosen and Hof der Tiere.
The courtyards hold cafés, restaurants, galleries, workshops and shops. Businesses and residents share the courtyards. The passage's website is run by the IG Kunsthofpassage Dresden.
History
The renovation of the courtyards began in 1997, after German reunification. The Dresden firm GINKGO Projektentwicklung names itself as the project developer of the Kunsthofpassage.
The courtyards
In the Hof der Elemente, rainwater running through drainpipes on the façade makes music when it rains. It is the work of the artists Annette Paul, Christoph Roßner and André Tempel, who took the idea from drainpipes they saw in St Petersburg.
Animals and fantasy figures by the artist Viola Schöpe decorate the walls of the Hof der Fabelwesen.
The Hof der Metamorphosen was designed by Arend Zwicker. In it, 24 different papers hang in metal frames on the walls and slowly change in the weather.
The Hof des Lichts, at the centre of the passage, has two stages and metal mirrors that throw coloured reflections as the sun moves. In the Hof der Tiere, animals climb the façade and a pond lies in the courtyard.