Meissen

One of the finest of all Meissen figures, a bear in hard-paste porcelain, modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler between 1732 and 1735. The Meissen factory, in Dresden, Germany, was founded in 1710, and reached a peak in quality and artistry during the 1730s.

Town in the Land (administrative region) of Saxony, Germany, on the River Elbe, 22 km/14 mi northwest of Dresden; population (2005 est) 28,500. The manufacture of so-called Dresden china moved here from Dresden 1710. Ceramics are still produced in the town from kaolin deposits nearby, and there are also engineering industries.

Meissen became the seat of a margravate in the 10th century, and was merged with the kingdom of Saxony in about 1423. It has a 14th-century cathedral and a 15th-century castle (site of the porcelain works), both situated on the Burgberg, the highest point of the town. Meissen was captured by the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), and severely damaged by fire. When a method of copying Chinese porcelain was discovered in the 18th century, Meissen's name soon became associated with the product.

There is a Municipal museum.