drobs - Writing for the Dresden Street Newspaper

Since the 2016–17 winter semester, students, faculty members, and other interested individuals have been regularly publishing historical articles in *drObs. The Dresden Street Newspaper*. In this way, they contribute their academic work to social projects. Some of the student research projects that served as the basis for these articles have since developed into excellent—and in some cases, award-winning—theses; for many students, these collaborative events opened doors to internships or proved to be a great help in launching their careers.

© Stefan Beckert / Alexander Kästner

Dr. Alexander Kästner oversees the collaboration. Various research institutions in the city support us, foremost among them the Dresden City Archives and the Dresden State Archives. The German Photographic Library assists us with illustrations and, more generally, with clarifying image rights and usage rights.
As a rule, the articles are produced as part of practical seminars. However, anyone interested is cordially invited to email suggestions for articles (5,000 or 7,500 characters + image suggestion) to Dr. Kästner.

Here you will find a list of articles published to date, as well as PDFs of older texts. You can support the project simply by purchasing an issue from the drObs vendor of your choice.

2025

• Alexander Kästner: Goats, Stones, and Signal Cannons. When Winters in Dresden Were Still Harsh—or the Icy Royal Residence around 1800, drObs 12 (2025) / 1 (2026), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: No Smoking Allowed Here. Tobacco Smoking Bans in Dresden, 1719–1815, drObs 11 (2025), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: A School Archive Is Reborn (6th Elementary School), drObs 10 (2025), pp. 20–21.
• Alexander Kästner: Scantily Clad Ladies and Damaged Linden Trees. Poetic Dreams and Vandalism on Neustädter Hauptstraße in the 18th Century, drObs 9 (2025), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner, in an interview with Marina Lienert: In Memory of the Children (Exhibition at the Dreikönigskirche), drObs 6 (2025), pp. 18–19.
• Robert Cornelis Schuppe (Reprint from drObs 9/2018): “Are You My Son?” Identification in 18th-Century Dresden, drObs 5 (2025), pp. 14–15.
• Alexander Kästner: Shouting and Chatter. On Mischief in Dresden’s Taverns and Alleys in the 17th Century, drObs 4 (2025), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: The Blind Girl. Henriette Funk in Dresden—An Extraordinary Local Celebrity, drObs 3 (2025), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: “Mockery and Emotion: The Voices of Two Travelers in Dresden in 1789 and 1817,” drObs 2 (2025), pp. 18–19.

2024

• Alexander Kästner: The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles in Dresden in the 18th Century, drObs 12 (2024) / 1 (2025), pp. 20–21.
• Alexander Kästner: Explosives as a Source of Hope: Using Firecrackers and “Bombs” Against the Frozen Elbe from 1784 to 1803, drObs 11 (2024), pp. 18–19.
• Issues 07/08 through 10 (2024) reprinted the orphanage series from 2018.
• Alexander Kästner: “The ‘Good Order.’” Law and Order According to Gottfried Schmieder in the Royal Capital of Dresden in the 18th Century, drObs 6 (2024), pp. 16–17.
• Nadine Kulbe: Fateful Pages. Why National Socialism Still Preoccupies a Library Today, drObs 5 (2024), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: 40 Manure Wagons. Should the 200th anniversary of Dresden’s municipal sanitation department be moved up? Newly discovered sources point to previously unknown origins around 1840, drObs 3 (2024), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: The Dangers of an Excessively “Familiar” Approach. Dresden Executioners in the 18th Century, Part IV, drObs 2 (2024), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: The Fees of Torment. Dresden Executioners in the 18th Century, Part III, drObs 12 (2023) / 1 (2024), pp. 18–19.

2023

• Alexander Kästner: Wolves, Troublemakers, and Barrels on the Kreuzturm. Dresden Executioners in the 18th Century, Part II, drObs 11 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: The Worries and Hardships of Paul Polster. Dresden Executioners in the 18th Century, Part I, drObs 10 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Kim Sandra Schulz: A Matter of Urgency: The First International Animal Welfare Congress in Dresden in 1860, drObs 9 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Marius Henrik Hoose: Log Cabin or Pyramid? Building Plans on the Neustadt Embankment During the Dresden Baroque Period, drObs 7–8 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: Poor “Fools” as Exceptions to Poor Law Legislation, drObs 6 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: An Opportunity to Be Generous. Poverty Relief in Dresden, Part 4: The Saxon Poverty and Begging Ordinance of 1772, drObs 5 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Jane Jannke: The Long Shadow of the Empire, drObs 4 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: Visiting the Needy. Relief for the Poor in Dresden, Part 3, drObs 3 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner and Martin Mirle: Love for the Distant and the Near Around 1770 and Its Limits. Providing for the Poor in Dresden, Part 2, drObs 2 (2023), pp. 18–19.

2022

• Alexander Kästner: The Great-Grandmother of the Soup Kitchen. Poverty Relief in Dresden, Part 1: “Rumford’s Soup” and the Elector’s “Police and Poor Relief Commission,” drObs 12 (2022) / 1 (2023), pp. 18–19.
• Richard Kneffel: The Russian Gyro Gearloose. Nikolai Abramovich Putjatin in Dresden-Kleinzschachwitz, drObs 11 (2022), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: On Manure, Rubble, and Scavengers. Anecdotes about the Unappetizing Everyday Life in the Alleys of Dresden from the 16th to the 18th Century, drObs 10 (2022), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: When the Elbe Raged. An interview with Sylvia Drebinger-Pieper on the Dresden City Archives’ collections regarding the 2002 flood, drObs 7/8 (2022), pp. 18–19.
• Jessica Furche / Alexander Kästner: “The War and Memory: When the Prussians Bombarded Dresden in the Summer of 1760,” drObs 6 (2022), pp. 18–19.
• Ronny Steinicke: When Helmut Schön Was Not Allowed to Play. The 1941 Dresden War Cup Match, drObs 5 (2022), pp. 18–19.
• Richard Kneffel: Against Forgetting? Shifting Ownership Structures and Political Inertia Hinder Commemoration Efforts at Sonnenstein in Pirna, drObs 4 (2022), pp. 18–19.
• Paula Felicitas Gruhl: Raphael’s Dreamy Angels: Or How the “Sistine Madonna” Came to Dresden, drObs 3 (2022), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: On Wooden Spinners, Water Barrels, and Dogs. The Challenges of Winter in January 1789 in Dresden, drObs 2 (2022), pp. 18–19.

2021

• Alexander Kästner: Winter Hardship. When the “Little Ice Age” brought bitter poverty to Saxony in the 18th century, a new welfare policy was born in Dresden, drObs 12 (2021) / 1 (2022), pp. 22–23.
• Alexander Kästner: “Against Nature.” Sodomy Trials in Dresden in the 18th Century, drObs 11 (2021), pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner / Christoph Laubsch: “Corpse Hair” at the “Caffe.” Dresden Residents Protest an Anatomical Cemetery in 1839, drObs 10 (2021), pp. 18–19.
• Johannes Schütz: State—Homeland—Nation. How Did People Actually Deal with These Concepts Under Socialism? A Trip Back to the GDR, drObs 9 (2021), pp. 18–19.
• Paula Felicitas Gruhl: A Touch of Mexico in Dresden. The Dresden Maya Codex and Its History, drObs 7/8 (2021), pp. 23–24.
• Martin Munke: Digital City History. Exploring the “Tobacco Frenzy on the Elbe” Online, drObs 6/2021, pp. 18–19.
• Ronny Steinicke: Exotics Who Became Christians. “Moor” and Turkish Baptisms in Baroque Dresden, drObs 5/2021, pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner in an interview with Caroline Förster: “History Is Not a Solo Sport.” The Dresden Historical Society Under New Female Leadership, drObs 4/2021, pp. 18–19.
• Dörthe Schimke: Always at Your Service. Dresden Maids and Servants in the 19th Century, drObs 3/2021, pp. 18–19.
• Paula Felicitas Gruhl: The Secret of the “Chocolate Girl,” drObs 2/2021, pp. 18–19.

2020

• Christian Schuster: Traces on Dresden’s Ice. Ice Skating and Its Triumph in the 19th-Century Elbe Metropolis, drObs 12/2020–1/2021, pp. 22–23.
• Cynthia Gertitschke / Sarah Schwarz: Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler. Dresden Artist and Victim of National Socialism, drObs 11/2020, pp. 18–19.
• Wolfgang Müller: Dresden’s Pulvermühlenpark. A Place with an Explosive History, drObs 10/2020, pp. 18–19.
• Lennart Kilian Kranz: Risen from the Grotto. The Return of the Golden Rider to Dresden’s Socialist Cityscape, drObs 9/2020, pp. 18–19.
• Nicole Götzelmann: Dresden’s Jews on the Run, drObs 7–8/2020, pp. 18–19.
• Jan Siegemund: Attacks on Honor. Defamatory Writings in Old Dresden, drObs 6/2020, pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: Epidemics and Society. The Plague in Dresden in 1680, drObs 4–5/2020, pp. 16–17 (Special COVID-19 Issue).
• Alexander Kästner: Changes of Heart. Care and Coercion in Dealing with People at Risk of Suicide in 18th-Century Saxony, drObs 3/2020, pp. 18–19.
• Wolfgang Flügel: When Pictures Learned to Move. On the Cultural History of Early Cinema in the Cinematic Metropolis of Dresden, drObs 2/2020, pp. 18–19.

2019

• Annemarie Niering: “Highlights of Hungarian Culinary Art.” The “International” Restaurant Complex on Prager Straße, drObs 12/2019–1/2020, pp. 18–19.
• Alexander Kästner: The Dresden Powder Tower. On the Trail of a (Perhaps) Forgotten History, drObs 11/2019, pp. 18–19.
• Caroline Förster ( in collaboration with the Research Training Group “History of the Saxon State Parliaments”): Making the State Parliament More Female-Friendly? (Saxon State Parliament Histories III), drObs 10/2019, pp. 18–19.
• Edith Schriefl ( in cooperation with the Research Training Group “History of the Saxon State Parliaments”): Grete Groh-Kummerlöw. From the Youngest Member of Parliament to Speaker of the House (Stories of the Saxon State Parliament II), drobs 9/2019, pp. 18–19.
• Janosch Pastewka (in cooperation with the Graduate College “History of the Saxon State Parliaments”): Doris Hertwig-Bünger. A Liberal Woman in the State Parliament of the Weimar Republic (Saxon State Parliament Histories I), drObs 7–8/2019, pp. 18–19.
• Gisela Wilbertz: Hans Prum’s Executioner’s Sword. Four hundred years ago, one of the most famous executions in Dutch history took place in The Hague. How the executioner’s sword found its way into the Dresden armory, drObs 6/2019, pp. 18–19.PDF
• Alexander Kästner: The Limits of the Enlightenment. The Beginnings of Emergency Medicine in the 18th Century (Part III), to be published in drObs 5/2019.PDF
• Alexander Kästner: A Swedish Gardener and a Ten-Taler Reward. The Beginnings of Emergency Medicine in Dresden in the 18th Century (Part II), drObs 4/2019, pp. 18–19.PDF
• Alexander Kästner: Bloodletting and Tobacco Smoke. The Beginnings of Emergency Medicine in Dresden in the 18th Century (Part I), drObs 3/2019, pp. 18–19. PDF
• Ina Schreiner: Years of Travel, Years of Apprenticeship? How Wandering Journeymen Kept Dresden Authorities Busy in the 18th and 19th Centuries, drObs 2/2019, pp. 18–19. PDF

2018

• Sonja Engel (in cooperation with SFB 1285, TP I): “They’re Just Bourgeois,” drObs 12/2018, pp. 10–11. PDF
• Cynthia Gertitschke / Sarah Schwarz / Undine Preißler: On the History of the Dresden Orphanage. Part III: Paths to the Orphanage, drObs 12/2018, pp. 22–23. PDF
• Cynthia Gertitschke / Sarah Schwarz / Undine Preißler: On the History of the Dresden Orphanage. Part II: Children Left to Fend for Themselves, drObs 11/2018, pp. 18–19. PDF
• Cynthia Gertitschke / Sarah Schwarz / Undine Preißler: On the History of the Dresden Orphanage. Part I: Poor Children on the Streets of Dresden, drObs 10/2018, pp. 18–19. PDF
• Robert Cornelis Schuppe: “Are You My Son?” Identification in 18th-Century Dresden, drObs 9/2018, pp. 18–19. PDF
• Michael Abicht: A Lost Craft Rediscovered: Dresden’s Sword Sweepers, drObs 8/2018, pp. 22–23. PDF
• Frank Siegert: Guardians of the Mountain Meadows. The Saxon Heritage Preservation Association and the Preservation of the Natural and Cultural Landscape, drObs 6/2018, pp. 18–19. PDF
• Felix Ruppricht: The Lemon Controversy. Italian Merchants in Baroque Dresden, drObs 4/2018, pp. 18–19. PDF
• Felix A. Clauß: How Loschwitz Experienced Its “Blue” and Other Wonders. On the History of the Loschwitz-Wachwitz Local Association, drObs 3/2018, pp. 18–19. PDF
• Alexander Kästner: A Troublesome “Easement”—Who Was Supposed to Clear Snow in Dresden in January 1800?, drObs 2/2018, pp. 18–19. PDF

2017

• Alexander Kästner: “Water, Physical, and Existential Hardship”: The Loschwitz ferry disaster on January 5, 1722, is still considered the worst catastrophe on the upper reaches of the Elbe, drObs 12/2017, pp. 19–20. PDF
• Stefan Beckert: “A Soldier, Two Pistols, and a Gatekeeper.” Dresden’s 18th-Century Alms Collectors at Work, drObs 7+8/2017, pp. 17–18. PDF
• Stefan Beckert: The Countess and the Old Bailiff. The Application Documents of Dresden’s 18th-Century Beggars’ Bailiffs, drObs 6/2017, pp. 18–19. PDF

• Stefan Beckert: The Poverty Police. Alms Bailiffs and How They Were Perceived in 18th-Century Dresden, drObs 5/2017, pp. 17–18. PDF

• Isabella Kalte: The Misery of the Youngest: The Dresden Orphanage Manufactory (II). Work Instead of Childhood, drObs 4/2017, pp. 17–18. PDF

• Isabella Kalte: The Misery of the Youngest: The Dresden Orphanage Workshop (I). Child Poverty—An Everyday and Widespread Problem, drObs 3/2017, pp. 17–18. PDF

• Felix Ruppricht: The Dresden Poorhouse in the 18th Century. (Not) a Place for “Truly Poor and Miserable People,” drObs 1+2/2017, pp. 16–17. PDF

2016

• Sebastian Müller: Poverty as a Social Phenomenon. Who Were the Beggars in Dresden Around 1800?, drObs 12/2016, pp. 16–17. PDF

• Jonas Mortsiefer: The Invention of the Beggar? Governmental Attempts to Combat a Social Problem, drObs 11/2016, pp. 8–9. PDF