Royal Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

October 1, 1710

Augustus the Strong of Saxony, obsessed with what he called his porcelain sickness, locked an alchemist named Bottger in a laboratory until he produced the first true European porcelain. The Meissen factory opened its gates at Albrechtsburg. The secret of China's white gold had finally crossed the Alps. Within decades, Meissen's crossed-swords mark became Europe's most coveted hallmark of refinement and royal taste.