Culture in Dresden Waurich"). Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" describes the bombing of Dresden in February 1945 seen from a slaughterhouse near the old city of Dresden. Vonnegut was prisoner of war in Dresden during that event. Contemporary novelists who are active in Dresden include Uwe Tellkamp and Ingo Schulze. Both broach up the theme of "Mythos Dresden". Tellkamp is known for his novel "Der Turm" ("The Tower") plotting the life of an academic family in its educated social environment (ivory tower society) of Dresden in the last seven years of former East Germany. Dresden's heterogeneous cityspace strongly influences the lifestyle of the city.
Dresden of twelve museums, of which the "Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister" (Old Masters Gallery) and the "Grünes Gewölbe" (Green Vault) and the "Japanese Palace" (Japanisches Palais) are the most famous. Also known are "Galerie Neue Meister" (New Masters Gallery), "Rüstkammer" (Armoury) with the Turkish Chamber, and the "Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden" (Museum of Ethnology). Other museums and collections owned by the Free State of Saxony in Dresden are: The Dresden City Museum is run by the city of Dresden and focused on the city's history. The "Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr" (Military History Museum) is placed in the former garrison in the Albertstadt.