Eastern Germany
The reconstruction of the Church of Our Lady in Dresden
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 When the allies bombed Dresden at the end of the Second World War, they destroyed most of the city.
One of the finest buildings, the baroque "Frauenkirche", the Church of Our Lady, was among the victims. The church stayed ablaze for two days and two nights on February 13-14, 1945. The great heat generated by the fire exploded the eight interior pillars supporting the huge stone dome. By the morning of February 15, the 5,800 tons of stone collapsed into fiery rubble.
Today, much of it still lies in a pile of stones - but now, at least, it is an organised pile of stones. Medieval bricks and slabs that have remained relatively intact have been identified, catalogued and stored away as part of the project to rebuild the church. The restored building has already reached half of its original height of 93 metres. It's expected to be completed by 2006 at the latest - ready for the celebration of the 800th anniversary of Dresden.
 On 28 June 1994, the public foundation "Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden" was founded to raise the 125m euros needed for the restoration work. Organisations and individuals all around the world support the initiative. The United Kingdom has also played its part in the rebuilding. The Dresden Trust has donated a replica of the original golden cross, which will sit at the very top of the new Church of Our Lady. This symbolic action is in keeping with the themes of the project - to create a spirit of reconciliation and heal the wounds of war. Its message is reinforced by the fact that the artist who designed the cross is the son of a British pilot who took part in the allied bombing raid.
Address:
An der Frauenkirche
01067 Dresden
Tel: 0049 351 498 11 31
Scheduled tours: daily from 10am to 4pm on the hour
Links
Frauenkirche Dresden
History and reconstruction of the church, its sponsors, current news and events. In English and German.
Construction diary
Technical information on the building work and progress reports. In German.
Frauenkirche.org
Website created by the university of Dresden on the history and reconstruction of the Frauenkirche. In English and German.
These links do not constitute
an endorsement by the BBC of the companies, their services or
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