Today we had noon prayer at the Frauenkirche in Dresden. With one of the largest domes in Europe, a defining mark of Dresden’s skyline, this Lutheran Church is considered an outstanding example of sacred Protestant architecture. The dome survived 100 Prussian cannonballs but fell in WWII.
Dresden, population 525,000, founded in 1206 AD, is the capital of the German state of Saxony.
February 13-15, 1945, in the last months of the war, 722 British and 527 US planes dropped more than 3,900 tons of bombs on Dresden, destroying 80% of the city and killing 25,000 people. The bombing was and still is highly controversial. On the third day, at 10 am, the dome fell.
The US and Britain justified the bombing because Dresden (known as Florence on the Elbe: Elbflorenz) was a rail hub and home to a number of war factories.
Among the structures destroyed was the famous Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). After the war, East German authorities left it as a war memorial.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was decided to rebuild the church. Reconstruction of the exterior was completed in 2004; interior in 2005. 3800 of the recovered original stones were included in the construction. 2,000 pieces of the original altar were recovered and also used.
The church was reconsecrated on 30 October 2005 with services lasting through Reformation Day, October 31, 2005. The church now stands as symbol of reconciliation between former warring enemies.
