Fraunkirche > Reviews > Frauenkirche rising from the ashes

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Amazing architecture
Disadvantages:	Sadly unfinished

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Frauenkirche in Dresden first came to my attention when I was spending a year abroad in Germany. I was visiting Dresden for a couple of days so I had read up about the history and the sights. I was amazed by how impressive and unique the Frauenkirche was to visit.

Dresden's Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) was built between 1726- 1738. It was until the events of 13th February 1945, Germany's largest and most known Protestant Church.

As we all know Dresden and it's art treasures were destroyed by the Allied bombing raids, which had little influence on the course of the war and only really succeeded in destroying architectural wonders and refugees who had nothing to do with the war.

Under Communist rule the DDR decided to leave the ruined site as a war memorial and it was only after reunification that a movement for its restoration began. A huge archaelogical dig through the ruins began in 1992 and attempts were made to reassemble the world's largest jigsaw puzzle.

It truly is a fantastic site to see and you can clearly observe the jigsaw nature, the old stones being distinguished from the new by a blackened colour. Funding has been so generous that the restoration is expected to finish ahead of schedule, which was originally 2006. I was fortuante enough to witness the first ringing of the bells, in July, since the beginning of WW2.

The true scale of the task is made apparent by the huge bits of the dome, the 'Stone Bell' as it is known locally. A lot must still be done and the interior also needs to be refurbished, however this is a wonderful site and it's restoration is a fitting memorial to all of the pointless victims of the bombing of Dresden. The international attitude to the restoration can be seen by the huge gold cross which will sit atop the finished church, this has been donated by the UK, as fitting means of apology.

There are tours of the site hourly, although the tour is in German, with a pamphlet explaining the major points available. This is the only way to see the interior of the church and truly appreciate the scale of reconstruction. This tour is free but you are encouraged to make a donation, especially if British or American. Nearby is a temporary building which houses a wonderful model of how the area around the Frauenkirche used to look. You can even watch a video of a tram ride in the early 1900's to give you an idea of the enormous scale of the building.

Definitely worth a visit and really gives you an idea to the commitment to rebuild Germany, which began after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.