The "Balcony of Europe", famous for its magnificent view of the Elbe valley, was built on a section of the former City fortifications on the left-bank of the river. It was originally a gift from the Elector to Count Brühl. Gottfried Knoeffler designed the terrace as a Baroque pleasure garden. It has been open to the public since 1814. Since this time, an impressive flight of steps flanked by statues representing the four times of the day has led up to the terrace from the Schlossplatz square. At the end of the 19th century "Brühl's Glory" finally made way for the Art Academy, the Secundogenitur, the Parliament Building and the Albertinum. The casemates of the old Dresden fortifications are accessible below the terrace. It was in the vaults of the Jungfernbastei bastion that Johann Friedrich Boettger discover the formula of European porcelain. The Moritz Monument dating from 1553 stands at the north-east end of the fortification wall. The legends claim that Augustus the Strong left his thumbprint in the wrought-iron railings of the terrace.
It is worth stopping on the edge of the Brühl Terrace to admire the view of the City, the Elbe hillsides and the River Elbe with its busy quayside. To the west of the Albertinum, separated by the steps leading to Georg-Treu-Platz, the ensemble is complemented by the Art Academy. Built on the site of the Brühl Gallery and the Cafe Réale by Constantin Lipsius between 1885 and 1894, the building catches the eye through its monumental neo-Renaissance architecture and rich sculptured ornamentation. The Academy is crowned with a glass cupola. Like all the buildings on the Brühl Terrace the Art Academy was badly damaged in 1945. The academy section has been used by the "College of Fine Arts" since the war, while the rooms of the Art Society are currently being restored.
