A strong sense of tradition can help drive a country’s – or region’s – future development. Attitude of mind is the key: experience and folk memory can provide a solid foundation for the flexibility and adaptability that allow regions, as well as nations, to develop successfully.
Saxony (more properly referred to as the Free State of Saxony) lies in southeastern Germany, close to the geographical heart of Europe. The River Elbe is its main axis, flowing through the state from the hills of Bohemia in the South East to the plains of the North West, then away across northern Germany to the North Sea. Saxony shares borders with Poland to the East and the Czech Republic to the South. Just beyond its northern border lies Berlin, the capital city of Germany – the train journey between Berlin and Dresden (state capital of Saxony) takes about an hour and a half.