The Best Guide to Discovering the Beauty and History of Dresden’s Iconic Frauenkirche

The Dresden Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, is one of the grandest buildings in all of Europe, but its destruction and reconstruction make this Church stand out to me. The interior and overall design aren’t in my top ten, but the story behind every stone is one I will never forget.

History of Dresden Frauenkirche

The original building that once stood here was a traditional Roman Catholic Cathedral. It was during the Reformation that this new Baroque Lutheran design came to replace the old Catholic Church. The new model was considered one of the best examples of Protestant architecture, and it holds up one of the largest domes in all of Europe atop its octagonal base. For decades, the dome and its golden cross were the crowning glories of the Dresden skyline.

WWII

During WWII, the Church was heavily bombed. On February 13th, 1945, the American and British forces dropped thousands of bombs on Dresden. The Church has withstood bombings and attacks, but never to this extent. The Church stood its ground for two days of constant bombing runs. People had come to the Church to seek refuge, and for those two days, the eight massive sandstone pillars protected these people and no doubt saved their lives. But even the strongest must fall. And after 650,000 bombs, the heat generated inside and outside the Church caused the pillars inside to explode. Some claim that they glowed bright red and shattered into a million pieces.

Frauenkirche Restoration

After the war, people who loved their Church took the pieces of shattered and blackened sandstones and piled them together. They collected these pieces hoping the former heart of the city would be rebuilt one day. But they had to wait over 45 years, through communism, until their Church would return to the people. The communists were not interested in spending money to reconstruct the Church, but dedicated art historians, priests and even the congregation began salvaging and categorizing the stones. These stones became a memorial to those lost at war, and in 1982 it was the place where people would meet to protest the East German regime. Finally, after reunification, the reconstruction of the Church would begin.

In 1989, a 14-member group of enthusiasts headed by Ludwig Güttler, a noted Dresden musician, formed a Citizens’ Initiative to raise money for the restoration. Architecture, art historians and engineers sorted the thousands of stones, identifying and labelling each for reuse in the new structure. An American, Günter Blobel, had fond memories of the Church when he was a boy as he had originally been born in Germany before moving to America. In 1994 he won the Nobel prize and donated his $1 million prizes to the Dresden Church of our Lady resolution. In the end, rebuilding the Church cost €180 million dollars, most of which was raised by private citizens. Outside the front doors of the Church lies an original piece of the dome, blackened from the explosion, as a memorial to the original Church and those who died trying to protect it.

Current Frauenkirche

To this day, you can stand outside the Church and see the original piece of stone that has been used in the Church’s restoration. These stones are covered with a darker patina due to the fire and weathering, but in a few more hundred years, the rest of these new sandstones will also become weathered and blend into the original stones. It was a sight to see as it is, making out the immensity of stones salvaged by everyday citizens.

The Golden Cross

The most moving piece of restoration is the new golden tower cross. The cross was funded by “the British people and the House of Windsor” and was made by a British blacksmith whose father was one of the bomber pilots responsible for the Church’s destruction. It shows how two countries, once at war, can unite to help repair the scars of war and create something beautiful.

Baroque Interior

The original Baroque Church was built between 1726 and 1743 by Dresden’s city architect, George Bähr. The Church is bright and covered from head to toe in pastel colours. When restoring the Church, artists used paintings and photographs of the original colouring to restore it to its former brilliance. Some people might not believe these colours could have been utilized in the 17th century, but the Baroque architecture was obsessed with pastel colours. Bähr especially loved green and gold and accented the Church with these trimmings. The windows are made of clear glass, and although this might look like an oversight or work in progress from the restoration, it is actually on purpose. The architect wanted the pure sunlight to filter through the windows, unheeded by stained glass, to illuminate the inside of the Church further.

Protestant Liturgy

Bähr incorporated the new Protestant liturgy by placing the altar, pulpit, and baptismal font up front for all to see. He made the front middle section of the Church the real stunner and left the rest of the Church to only compliment this glowing altarpiece and organ. One important aspect of Baroque architecture was the element of illusion. As such, a church that couldn’t afford hundreds of slabs of marble created its own by painting marbling patterns along all the sandstone columns which hold up the immense dome. The Baroque painters and architects are masters of light and shade, and using this can create illusions that make the building seem longer, wider and even more detailed.

Organ

In 1736, famed organ maker Gottfried Silbermann built this incredible three storeys manual organ for the Church. On the day it was inaugurated into the Church, Johann Sebastian Bach performed a recital to an audience of hundreds. One can only imagine the music he would have produced from this grandiose machine.

Below the organ, you can see, well, how can you miss, the large altar. This altar depicts Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. You can see the olive trees behind him and him praying to the angel coming down from heaven, accented in gold. By some miracle, this piece partly survived the bombing and the fire that destroyed the Church. Some of the figurines had pieces broken off but were more easily restored, leaving us a real original piece of the Church today.

Stone Bell

Other than the altarpiece, the most important part of this building is the 96-metre-tall dome. The name of the dome is “die Steinerne Glocke” or “Stone Bell.” At the time, it was a real feat of engineering and required 12,000 tonnes of sandstone to support.

The frescos painted around the dome are scenes of the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and allegories of the Christian virtues of belief, love, hope and mercy. These baroque frescos are painted with lighter hands; they were meant to reflect not only the lives of the evangelists but the lives of the ordinary people. The scenes are set on earth and seem more related to people. You can see many of the details on the wall frescos and the dome by ceiling up to the top of the dome. This requires an entry fee but is perhaps one of the city’s best views and the Church itself.

Walking up the Dome

The winding and spiralling staircase lead you to a tiny trapdoor which you climb through to suddenly come through to a viewing platform with a stunning view of the city.

View over Dresden

From here, you have a 360° view across the Elbe and Dresden. We were up there on a clear day and could see past the city and surrounding countryside. You can see the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and Brühl’s Terrace. Around the corner, you can see the central historic district. You can see the pointed spire of the Dresden Castle, the green onion down of the Roman Catholic Church, the Orange roofs of the Dresden State Art Collections, and the Glass roof of the Dresden Green Vault.

You can see the newly restored square and all the little dots of people below. During the restoration and after the war, this square was where they stored all the thousands of pieces of rubble; now that the construction is done, the square has opened back up to the public – and they have been greatly enjoying having it back. As well as their stunning Church, which anchors the centre of the city.