Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann designed the Zwinger for Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and elected King of Poland, with sculpture by Balthasar Permoser. The infobox gives 1710 to 1728, and the text says it was built in stages from 1710 to 1728 but also gives 1709. It was formally inaugurated in 1719. The style is Baroque, and the infobox also lists Neo-Renaissance.
The Crown Gate, finished in 1714, is made of dark wood and gold in the shape of the Polish crown and has four Polish eagles. Gottfried Semper designed the gallery wing, built from 1847 to 1855. The complex holds the Old Masters Picture Gallery, the Dresden Porcelain Collection and the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon.
Carpet bombing on February 13 to 15, 1945, mostly destroyed the building, though the art collection had been evacuated beforehand. Parts reopened in 1951, and the Zwinger was largely restored to its pre-war state by 1963.
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