Dresden Historical Neumarkt Society

[3] Following the war destruction, some historical buildings like the Zwinger Palace and the Semper Opera had been reconstructed by the GDR authorities, but very little development had taken place on the site of the former Neumarkt.

[5] However, in 2003, a petition in support of reconstructing the Neumarkt area was created and when it was given to the mayor of Dresden, it had been signed, within a few months, by nearly 68,000 people, amounting to 15% of the entire electorate.

[7] The association has able to achieve partial success, however, the local design commission of the city has in many cases prevailed with its demands for modernist breaks within the baroque quarters.

Since 2009, the society has expanded its programmatic objectives: It is now generally committed to the "preservation and reconstruction of the historical evidence of architecture and urban development in the inner city of Dresden that characterises the cityscape".

GHND Chairman Torsten Kulke received the Henry Hope Reed Award from the University of Notre Dame in 2018 for his commitment.

Reason for the foundation of GHND: the underground car park entrance in Salzgasse and the modernist extension behind the Coselpalais
The still ruinous Dresden Frauenkirche in the undeveloped Neumarkt in October 1985
The Neumarkt with buildings designed according to historical models, thanks to work by the GDND, 2011