Dresden's Church of our Lady - Reminder of peace

© Christine Till - CT-Graphics... more

by Alexandra Till

Title

Dresden's Church of our Lady - Reminder of peace

Artist

Alexandra Till

Medium

Photograph - Photographs - Prints - Digital Images - Cards - Posters - Photo-calendars - Photo Art

Description

© Christine Till - CT-Graphics
The first church "Zu unser lieben Frau" was built in the 11th century in romanesque architecture. It was outside the city walls and surrounded by a grave yard. The modern Dresdener Frauenkirche was built as a Lutheran (Protestant) parish church.
The church's most distinctive feature was its unconventional 96 m-high dome, called die Steinerne Glocke or "Stone Bell". The dome proved to be extremely stable. Witnesses in 1760 said that the dome had been hit by more than 100 cannonballs fired by the Prussian army. The projectiles bounced off and the church survived. On 13 February 1945, Anglo-American allied forces began the bombing of Dresden. The church withstood two days and nights of the attacks. The temperature surrounding and inside the church eventually reached 1,000 degrees Celsius. The dome finally collapsed at 10 a.m. on 15 February. The building vanished from Dresden's skyline. For 40 years the 42 feet high pile of rubble was a reminder of the destructive powers of war.
The bronze statue of reformer and theologian Martin Luther in front of the church survived the bombings. has been restored and again stands.
On 30 October 2005, after 13 years of rebuilding, Dresden's Church Of Our Lady was restored and reconsecrated. For the first time since the last war, the completed dome and its gilded cross grace Dresden's skyline as in centuries prior.

Uploaded

March 19th, 2012