Tharandt is a municipality in Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, situated on the Weißeritz

Weißeritz

The Weißeritz is a river in Saxony. The 12 km short left tributary of the Elbe runs through Freital and Dresden. Its name is derived from west Slavic bystrica . The official name of the river used in documents and hydrographic maps is Vereinigte Weißeritz...

, 9 miles southwest of Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, on the Dresden-Reichenbach

Reichenbach

- In Germany :* Reichenbach , in the Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis district, Saxony* Reichenbach im Vogtland, in the Vogtlandkreis district, Saxony* Reichenbach am Heuberg, in the Tuttlingen district, Baden-Württemberg...

 railway.

It has a Protestant Church, a hydropathic establishment, and the oldest academy of forestry

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

 in Germany, founded by Heinrich Cotta

Heinrich Cotta

Johann Heinrich Cotta was a German silviculturist who was a native of Kleine Zillbach, near Wasungen, Thuringia. He was the father of geologist Bernhard von Cotta ....

 in 1811 together with its arboretum, the Forstbotanischer Garten Tharandt

Forstbotanischer Garten Tharandt

The Forstbotanischer Garten Tharandt , also known as the Sächsisches Landesarboretum, is an arboretum maintained by the Dresden University of Technology...

. In 2002 a severe flood destroyed much of the academy buildings and the library with some of its more than 500 years old books. The academy was rebuilt and today has about 650 students and is famous for its long traditions of educating students from all over the world in (tropical) forestry, resource management and sustainable land use.

Tharandt is a favorite summer resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

 of the people of Dresden, one of its principal charms being the magnificent beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

woods which surround it.