Semperbau
Originally the Zwinger had only three wings, the courtyard opened up towards the Elbe river. After the completion of the Semper Opera House in 1841 Gottfried Semper closed the courtyard by adding a gallery in Renaissance style. Picture GalleryConstruction of this new wing, now known as the Semperbau, started in 1847. The wing is also referred to as the Picture Gallery as it is home to the Gemäldegalerie Alter Meister (Old Masters Gallery), a museum with top-class works from famous artists such as Van Dyck, Vermeer, Rubens, Titian and Raphael (the Sistine Madonna). The wing also houses another museum, the Rüstkammer (armory), also known as the Historical Museum, with a large collection of weaponry Old Masters Gallery from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, including many weapons and harnesses used by the Saxon rulers.