Recently, an Australian friend of mine went on a worldwide tour and sent me back lots of his photos he thought I would enjoy. I was immediatly struck by the beauty of the Frauenkirche in Dresden but even more so by its' fascinating story!
The baroque styled Lutheran church was originally finished in 1743, by George Bahr. The sandstone dome dominated the skyline of the city until it was finally completely destroyed in 1945 during WWII, along with much of the city. It lay in rubble for many years until it was declared a landmark in 1966.
However, the church was finally rebuilt in 2004, after the fall of communism, with only this one wall (the dark portion) being original. A happy case of restoration prooving you can't always keep a good building down!
Recently, an Australian friend of mine went on a worldwide tour and sent me back lots of his photos he thought I would enjoy. I was immediatly struck by the beauty of the Frauenkirche in Dresden but even more so by its' fascinating story!
The baroque styled Lutheran church was originally finished in 1743, by George Bahr. The sandstone dome dominated the skyline of the city until it was finally completely destroyed in 1945 during WWII, along with much of the city. It lay in rubble for many years until it was declared a landmark in 1966.
However, the church was finally rebuilt in 2004, after the fall of communism, with only this one wall (the dark portion) being original. A happy case of restoration prooving you can't always keep a good building down!
Wonderful post. The reconstruction of buildings that were destroyed in Germany, Eastern Europe, and Russia during WWII in the last 30 years is an amazing story of determination, creativity, and sheer human will against all odds. Incredible. Thank you for these amazing photographs.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine how beautiful the city was before the bombing...this is a great story!
ReplyDeleteMy mom lived in Berlin at the time of the bombings (she was around five) and her street was one of the few that was missed by the bombs...she has some amazing stories too.
J~
Wonderful building!
ReplyDeleteReggie, it amazes me too! I think I owe a visit, I haven't been to eastern europe since the late 90s when I was in high school!
ReplyDelete24 corners and Sandra, I can just imagine this city when it was filled with the beautiful 'cream puff' baroque architecture that this area is known for -as opposed to the hideous concrete block monstrosities built by the communists in their place.
An interesting story and an impressive restoration! I wish there was a way to wave a magic wand and restore every crumbling, beautiful, old building in the world back to it's original grandeur.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely wonderful. it's interesting how the dome almost takes over visually, it's so large in comparison to the rest of the building.
ReplyDeleteglad you shared.
That is a phenomenal restoration. When you said it was destroyed in the bombing my first thought was "Damn, they had good photography before 1945!" That took a while to wrap my head around...
ReplyDeleteI had the great pleasure of visiting this church two years ago. The restoration work and specialized skills of European artisans is remarkable, and we in North America should envy these living treasures. Similar restoration work would be of the Russian palaces such as Pavlosk, rebuilt in the 1950s and 1960s.
ReplyDeleteI walked to the top of the dome ofthe Frauenkirche, and because of the perfect proportions, what really cannot be discerned from the photos is the scale and height of the building. It must be at least as tall as a 12 story building. For an idea of scale, consider that an adult is less than half as tall as one of the wooden entrance doors.
It is a German Baroque masterpiece, and for many Americans a bit of a surprise (especially the interior) as this frothy, dreamy, very rich style is nonexistent in America.
Thank you for the story of the renovation/rebuilding. Beautiful! Now I know more about it from your comment above, I really like to see it!
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