Link only available on sub pages

Shown on the left, the original of this Honorary Commemorative Medal of the state capital Dresden from 1944 was awarded to the author Gerhart Hauptmann. This medal of merit was only struck in very small numbers. It was one of the last pieces created by Friedrich Wilhelm Hörnlein. For more than three decades, he worked as an engraver at Saxony's state mint in Muldenhütten.

The medal is silver gilt. The obverse shows the Augustus Bridge and the Brühl Terraces, and towering above them Dresden's famous towers in a densely packed row. On the left is the Town Hall tower, then the dome of the Church of Our Lady, followed by the tower of the Church of the Holy Cross, the Royal Palace's Hausmann Tower, the façade of the cathedral tower, and on the far right the Crown Gate at the Zwinger Palace. Crowded together in this way, the towers present a particularly harmonious arrangement within the circular medal. The reverse shows the city's coat of arms with crest.

The medal came into the museum's possession in October 2011 along with another one: the gold Medal of Merit "in recognition of dedicated assistance in difficult times". Struck in 1866, it's also on display in this glass case. They were both donated to the Dresden Münzkabinett by a private collector.

Hörnlein created a small-scale memorial to Dresden in 1944 with this Honorary Commemorative Medal. Shortly afterwards, on the night of the 13th to 14th of February 1945, allied bombing raids destroyed large parts of the city. Including the studio of the artist, Friedrich Wilhelm Hörnlein. He died in the raids along with his wife and daughter..

Thanks to the reconstruction effort, Dresden's towers have since been restored to all their former splendour.