This especially helped bring business to Dresden with the creation of a major railway between Dresden and Leipzig. Another unique trait of this region is the presence of kaolin, a mineral used in producing porcelain. Dresden and the neighboring towns were able to create the first European-made hard-paste porcelain. This was a huge export for Dresden and helped build it into the city it is today.
One of the challenges people face living here is also one of the things that help people live here: the Elbe River. Since the historic city is built close to the banks of the Elbe and the old moat walls have been removed, the city center can easily be flooded. This poses a problem for shop owners and restaurants during the spring and winter months. Another surprising challenge for me was the very literal presence of history. A few blocks from my apartment, construction workers discovered an old, undetonated World War II bomb while doing some road work. The street was shut down for about three days while they evacuated the nearby apartments and buildings and brought in professionals to safely defuse the bomb.
The wine industry of Dresden is one of the most visible ways people have been adapting to the environment. Using the sheltered mini-climate of the Elbe River Valley and the sloping hills that bask in the sunlight, people have been able to grow grapes to produce wine even in this northern environment. Using what they had around them, people designed a terracing system with sandstone that would help store the heat from the sun as well to help the grapes grow.
