Augustus the Strong Elector of Saxony (1694 - 1733). Under his reign, Dresden evolved to become a world-famous cultural metropolis, a centre of baroque architecture, and a crucible of scientific exploration.

Five-minute clock The famous digital clock (hours = Roman numerals; minutes = Arabic numerals; 5-minute time interval) in Dresden's Semper Opera. It was built in 1841 by Friedrich Gutkaes and Adolph Lange, and is conveniently legible from all seats in the house.

In Saxony's most glorious epoch, during the reign of | Augustus the Strong, Dresden evolved to become a metropolis of the arts and sciences. The watchmaking trade received particular attention and was also actively promoted, because the awareness of the exact time of day was a key to the co-ordination of events and celebrations on the court agenda. J. C. Friedrich Gutkaes, born in 1785, had also taken up the watchmaking profession. He oversaw a reputed workshop on Schlossgasse in Dresden, where exquisite precision timepieces were made for an illustrious clientele. As a highly respected master of his trade, Gutkaes in 1831 was appointed "mechanicus" of the royal timepiece collection that was on display at Dresden's famous late-baroque Zwinger. In this position, he was also responsible for the tower clock of the city palace; it governed daily activities at the Saxon court. Gutkaes' most famous work is the digital | five-minute clock which he built for the Semper Opera in 1841. But he must share the fame with another man whose history begins in the following chapter.