Story
The story of Church of Our Lady
The church before you was rebuilt between 1994 and 2005, yet its story is far older. The Baroque Frauenkirche, designed by the city architect George Bähr, was built by the citizens of Dresden between 1726 and 1743 as a Lutheran church; Bähr did not live to see it finished. Its sandstone dome, the "Stone Bell", rested on eight slender supports and rose 67 metres high.
In 1736 Gottfried Silbermann built its organ, and Johann Sebastian Bach gave a recital on it. On 13 February 1945 the bombing of Dresden began. The church withstood two days and nights, and its pillars held long enough for 300 people sheltering in the crypt to be evacuated.
On 15 February the dome collapsed. For decades the ruins stood as a memorial against war, and residents numbered salvaged stones for a future rebuilding. After German reunification, a citizens' initiative raised funds, and the church was reconsecrated on 30 October 2005. Today it also stands as a symbol of reconciliation.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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