Meissen Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: "Meißen", ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche. The "Große Kreisstadt" is the capital of the Meissen district. Meissen is sometimes known as the "cradle of Saxony". The city grew out of the early Slavic settlement of "Misni" inhabited by the Glomacze tribe and was founded as a German town by King Henry the Fowler in 929.
Vienna porcelain Vienna porcelain Vienna porcelain is the product of the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory (German: "Kaiserlich privilegierte Porcellain Fabrique"), a porcelain manufacturer in Alsergrund in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1718 and continued until 1864. The firm was Europe's second-oldest porcelain factory after Meissen porcelain, and for 25 years the two remained the only European producers. Initially it was a private enterprise, founded by Claude du Paquier, an official of the Viennese Imperial court, but in 1744 it was rescued from financial difficulties when bought by the Empress Maria Theresa, and thereafter remained an asset of the emperors. The wares from