See also: Theodor Zwinger

The Zwinger Palace in Dresden, Germany was designed by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann in 1722, and became the star attraction in that city's rich cultural heritage. It was renowned for its collection of works of art and scientific treasures. It was mostly destroyed by the carpet bombing raids of February 13-15, 1945.

After World War II, in a referendum, the people of Dresden voted to restore the building and generally preferred to rebuild the glories of the city, instead of having the ruins bulldozed to make way for the architecture of socialist realism then prevalent in the German Democratic Republic.

The Zwinger still hosts a very rich art collection.