The State Apartment played a part in Saxony’s efforts to portray itself as a major power. August the Strong had arranged for it to be furnished in the French style. The wall hangings, the precious silver, the furniture – it all had the sole purpose of impressing visitors and underscoring Saxony’s aspirations and sovereignty.
The State Apartment was the most important suite of rooms in a palace. This was where the painstakingly devised ceremonial took place whenever ambassadors, dignitaries and important guests were received. That is why the richest and most luxurious furnishings in any palace were to be found in this suite of rooms. After all, the whole point was to give fitting expression to the ruler’s rank and power.
After the devastating fire of 1701, Dresden’s Residenzschloss – its royal residence – no longer had such a State Apartment. So two years before the wedding celebrations, August the Strong gave orders to start the remodelling of the second floor and create a magnificent State Apartment in the baroque style. At the time, he was spending most of his time in Poland, but he supervised the rebuilding work and decoration closely from there, with very clear ideas about what he wanted.
It’s all documented in the extensive correspondence he carried on with August Christoph, Imperial Count von Wackerbarth who served as Director General in charge of military and civilian buildings. He was on site in Dresden and kept all the aspects of the building project on track. The two men discussed every procedure in detail, especially the choice of furnishing fabrics. It was an equal exchange, because Wackerbarth wasn’t shy about speaking out. The result was persuasive. The Dresden State Apartment could easily rival its counterparts in Berlin and Munich. This was a contemporary’s snap judgment in 1741:
“The palace is handsomely furnished and well worth viewing, in particular the State Rooms.”
