Dresden architecture and numerous world-renowned museums and art collections, Dresden has been called "Elbflorenz" (Florence of the Elbe). The incorporation of neighbouring rural communities over the past 60 years has made Dresden the twelfth largest urban district by area in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. The nearest German cities are Chemnitz to the southwest, Leipzig to the northwest and Berlin to the north. Prague, Czech Republic is about to the south and to the east is the Polish city of Wrocław. Dresden is one of the greenest cities in all of Europe, with 63% of the city being green areas
Central German Metropolitan Region Group for European Metropolitan Regions in Germany) was formed in 2001 which developed the concept of the Central German Metropolitan Region in 2012. In 2013, Dresden and Magdeburg dropped out of the club and the membership has been focused more on cities and towns around Leipzig and Halle. The largest of the eight member cities are Leipzig in Saxony and Halle (Saale) in Saxony-Anhalt. The member cities have changed over time and the current member cities are as follows: Except for Zwickau and Wittenberg, all towns hold the status of an independent city (i.e. a county-free city). Dresden and Magdeburg