1206 Dresden first mentioned, as a fording point on the Elbe River
1423 Ruler of Saxony is made elector of the Holy Roman Empire
1485 Elector of Saxony chooses Dresden as main residence
1517 Martin Luther's "95 Theses on the Misuses of Indulgences" purportedly posted on the doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church
1520 Luther publishes Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation
1522 Luther's German translation of the New Testament published
1548 Hofkapelle (court orchestra) founded; forerunner of Saxon State Orchestra
1556 Royal Saxon Library founded by Prince Elector Augustus (1553-1586) as his personal library
1694-1733 Reign of Augustus I, the Strong
1709-1732 Zwinger "arena," an art gallery and festival courtyard, is built beside the palace by architect P"ppelmann
1727 Royal Library moves into two wings of Zwinger and is made accessible to the public
1733-1763 Reign of Augustus II
1736 Johann von Besser's collection acquired by the Royal Library
1756-1763 Seven Years' War slows library's growth
1763-1806 Reign of Augustus III
1764 Count von Bunau's library purchased
1768 Count von Bruhl's library purchased
1798 "Romantic School" of literature created in Dresden
1806 Holy Roman Empire dissolved during Napoleonic wars; elector is made king of Saxony and library becomes Royal Public Library
1807 Journal Phoebus founded, focused on the "Romantic" Movement and published in Dresden
1884-1887 Albertinum built to house the Sculpture Collection
1918 Last King of Saxony abdicates; Dresden becomes part of Germany
1919 With establishment of the Weimar Republic, library officially becomes the Saxon State Library
*Adapted from The Splendor of Dresden, National Gallery of Art, 1978
