The International Falk Symposium 162 in Dresden is a good example for the promises of history. Sixty years after the misery of the Second World War and the destruction of Dresden and 20 years after a long and threatening Cold War, scientists from more than 50 nations across the world met in a wonderfully reconstructed city to discuss a series of key lectures on the pathophysiology and clinical management of liver cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is the fifth most common cause of death between the age of 25 and 45 years. To date, it is still not possible to inhibit or revert progression of cirrhosis in most patients. Accordingly, clinicians primarily deal with the various complications of cirrhosis, while liver transplantation is only available for selected patients. There has been tremendous progress in the understanding of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis since the last Falk Symposium devoted to this topic in 2000.