Kleiner Ballsaal, Royal dance hall in Dresden Castle, Germany

The Kleiner Ballsaal is a rectangular hall of about 113 square metres in the Georgenbau of Dresden Castle, 11.9 metres long, 9.5 metres wide and 10.9 metres high across two storeys. Marble, stucco marble and stucco lustro walls carry a painted cove and a gilded ceiling, and a gallery with a fully gilded zinc-cast railing of 2,440 parts surrounds the room. A panel parquet floor, a niche in the south wall, a fireplace and crystal chandeliers complete it.

The hall was first installed between 1865 and 1868 on the second floor of the Georgenbau as a venue for small court gatherings, notably chamber balls, within the apartments of Queen Amalie Auguste. Court architect Bernhard Krüger, a pupil of Gottfried Semper, designed it. It was King Johann's most important building project in the residence palace. The hall was badly damaged in the 1945 air raids, and after reconstruction of the Georgenbau from 1962 to 1967 it was reopened on 25 January 2019 following a full restoration begun in 2009.

The room is decorated with marble surfaces, gilded ornaments, and plasterwork showing musical cherubs and floral child figures in a historicist style. This decoration gives a direct sense of the taste favored by the Saxon royal court in the late 19th century.

The hall sits on the upper floor of the Georgenbau wing, reached through the castle's exhibition areas; it is planned as a special exhibition space. Its double-height walls rise 10.9 metres to a skylight, now lit by lamps that adjust to the time of day. Look for the surviving original stucco marble in the south-wall niche.

During restoration, tens of thousands of gold leaves were applied to the ceiling and gallery railings alone. This level of care shows how closely the original appearance was followed when the room was brought back.