The golden equestrian statue of August the Strong
The statue, showing the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland dressed as a Roman Emperor, stands at the Hauptstrasse, the main pedestrian boulevard in Dresden's Neustadt district, just across the Augustusbridge from the Schlossplatz.Augustus the Strong was responsible for several of the city's famous baroque buildings, including the Zwinger. During his reign Dresden became an important cultural center, nicknamed Florence at the Elbe. When he died in 1733 his son Augustus III decided to erect a gilded equestrian statue in honor of his illustrious father.The statue was designed by the French court sculptor Jean Joseph Vinanche and cast in 1734 by Ludwig Wiedemann, a smith from Augsburg. The following year the gilded statue was unveiled at Neustadt, near the Augustusbridge. The large pedestal was completed much later, in 1884.