A place travelers can visit Frauenkirche

Reviews: Frauenkirche

General description: Frauenkirche

The Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) is Dresden's new old landmark! The church's dome, known as the "Stone Bell" has arisen from the ruins and people now queue to see it up close.
 
Continual Rebirth
The impressive Protestant church was built from 1726-43 based on plans by city architect George Bähr, who took his inspiration from the domes of Italian churches. Neither the architect nor August the Strong, who supported the building of the church despite his conversion to Catholicism, lived to see its completion. The huge dome, the "Stone Bell", survived the bombardment by the Prussians in the Seven Years' War. Initially, although burnt out, it also survived the night of bombing on 13 February 1945. But on the morning of 15 February the annealed pillars gave way, and the church collapsed in on itself. After the war, the ruin became an anti-war monument, and in the 1980s a symbol of the GDR peace movement. In 1993, the reconstruction began with the salvaging and cataloging of the stones which were still useable, and the Frauenkirche was then officially opened to great ceremony on 30 October 2005.
 
Inside the Frauenkirche in Dresden
The interior of the church, which is flooded with light and is in the shape of a central room with five galleries and can accommodate 1800 people, greets visitors with great baroque splendor. The altar created by Johann Christian Feige was restored using parts which had been preserved. The organ backdrop was also reconstructed, the organ built in the Silbermann guise by the Strasbourg company Kern. The damaged original dome cross recalls the night of bombing in Dresden, the new one on the dome - a symbol of reconciliation - was created by a London goldsmith, the son of a British bomber pilot. The lower church, the "place of tranquility", houses the restored monument to George Bähr.
 
Visiting the Frauenkirche
Services take place on a regular basis (Sun 11 a.m., 6 p.m.) along with concerts and other events.
You can also visit during "Offene Kirche" open church hours. These are usually Monday - Friday 10am - 12 noon & 1 - 6pm. Volunteer tour guides will show you around or you can rent an audio guide for €2.50.
Website: www.frauenkirche-dresden.de

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• Visiting the viewing platform in the dome (highly recommended!) costs €8 (€5 discounted)
  

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