Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner in Dresden

A musical legacy that brings people together. Wagner revered Weber as a role model. His ideas inspired Wagner’s operas such as *Tannhäuser* and *Der Ring des Nibelungen*. Both composers served as Kapellmeister in Dresden and, from there, changed the course of music history.

Richard Wagner did not merely pay his last respects to Carl Maria von Weber – he staged a moving tribute to Romanticism: With a solemn funeral procession through the city, a moving eulogy and a specially composed ‘Funeral Music for the Transfer of the Remains’, the funeral became a musical event steeped in symbolism. It was here, in Friedrichstadt, that Weber found his final resting place – yet his legacy lives on in every note that still echoes through Dresden’s concert halls to this day.

Carl Maria von Weber died in London on 5 June 1826 and was initially buried in the Catholic church of St Mary Moorfields. On the initiative of Richard Wagner, his coffin was transferred to Dresden in 1844, where he was given a ceremonial burial. The grave was designed by Gottfried Semper and serves as a family grave.

Address: Friedrichstraße 54, 01067 Dresden

Created by the Dresden sculptor Ernst Rietschel, the Carl Maria von Weber monument was ceremonially unveiled in 1861 following a long period of planning. Funded by donations and contributions from the Saxon court, it initially stood in front of what was then the Hotel Bellevue. In the 1950s, it was moved to its current location on Dresden’s Theaterplatz – overlooking the Semperoper.

Location: Theaterplatz, between the opera house and the Zwinger

Since 1959, Dresden’s renowned music academy has borne the name of Carl Maria von Weber – a tribute to his significant contribution as court conductor and a pioneer of Romantic opera. Today, it ranks among the internationally recognised centres of training for musicians. Weber’s spirit lives on in its halls: artistic independence, a keen sense of sound and emotion, and a deep connection to Dresden’s unique cultural landscape.

Address: Wettiner Platz 13, 01067 Dresden

In the Hofkirche, now the Catholic Cathedral, Carl Maria von Weber conducted several of his sacred works. It was here that, in 1818, he performed his ‘Freischütz Mass’ and the ‘Jubilee Mass’ – composed for the famous castrato Filippo Sassaroli. The church’s magnificent setting lent these concerts a special splendour.

Address: Schloßstraße 24, 01067 Dresden

In early 1817, Carl Maria von Weber played a birthday serenade on the grand piano at ‘Haus Gottessegen’ – now known as the Kügelgenhaus – for his friend, the painter Gerhard von Kügelgen. The late Baroque building was constructed at the end of the 17th century and bears the striking inscription ‘An Gottes Segen ist alles gelegen’ above its façade.

Since 1981, the Kügelgenhaus has housed a lovingly curated museum of Dresden Romanticism. Across nine thematically arranged rooms, it showcases artists of the early Romantic period, including Weber, Novalis, Tieck and Caspar David Friedrich, thereby bringing the salon culture of the time back to life.

On 25 December 1816, Carl Maria von Weber signed his letter of appointment as Saxon Court Kapellmeister of the German Department at the Dresden Royal Palace. In the palace’s sumptuous rooms, he conducted numerous concerts and festive banquet music, which shaped musical life at court.

Address: Taschenberg 2, 01067 Dresden

In 1817, Carl Maria von Weber moved to the ‘Italienisches Dörfchen’ – now the site of the restaurant of the same name on Theaterplatz. Right next door, as court conductor at the Moretti Court Theatre, he presided over unforgettable evenings of opera.

Today, a bust in the Semperoper commemorates him, and his portrait adorns the curtain. And in 1985? That was when the Semperoper reopened after its reconstruction with a performance of his *Freischütz* – a musical tribute to Weber’s legacy.

Address: Theaterplatz, 01067 Dresden

In winter, Carl Maria von Weber gave lessons to the music-loving Princess Amalie of Saxony in the magnificent Taschenbergpalais. The close artistic bond between teacher and pupil found expression in her works and continues to shape our memory of this special time to this day. Today’s Café Amelie in the Taschenbergpalais bears the name of Weber’s extraordinary pupil and invites visitors to enjoy a stylish break in a historic setting.

Address: Taschenberg 3, 01067 Dresden