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The Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden (Germany) burnt down
two days after the bombing of the city on 13 February 1945. In 1990
after the fall of the wall and the communist regime in the GDR some
people had the idea to rebuild the church.
The idea became reality: On 30 October 2005 the church was consecreted –
with more than 100.000 people outside joining the 1.700 in the church.
by Ulrich van Stipriaan
(click on thumbnails for full-size images)
The city of Dresden in the south-eastern part of Germany is
sometimes called “Florence of the Elbe” – to put into words the Italian
feeling that this city radiates. The city had its good times and, like
many others around the world, has seen bad times. During World War II it
was heavily bombed.
The “Frauenkirche” (Church of Our Lady) resisted the bombs, but caught
fire two days later and imploded. As a ruin the dead church survived
socialism in midst the town.
Since its destruction many citizens had the feeling that something
is missing: The dome of the Frauenkirche has been a landmark since 1743,
a part of the baroque skyline that was (as we would say today in a
marketing jargon) an USP - something that makes the city unique.
Canaletto, as the Italian painter Bernado Belloto used to call himself,
made this view immortal.
On the other hand: The ruin of the imploded church was somehow
remarkable as well. A memorial against war and the self-defeating
destructions that every war brings to the people.
As all over eastern Europe the communist regimes broke down in 1989/1990, freedom gave old ideas room to flourish. One of those was to rebuild the Frauenkirche.
Oh, that’s impossible!
There is no Christian community that could fill
this church with religious life! It is to expensive! We don’t need
churches that nobody misses - there is so much else to do!
But you do need crazy thinkers to open the minds! There was a group of
nine intellectuals, artists, scientists who met at the end of socialism
and formulated the “Call from Dresden”, a memorandum to rebuild the
church.
1990.
When I visited Dresden for the first time just eight months after the
fall of the Berlin wall, which signalized the end of communism in the
German (not so) Democratic Republic, I had many new impressions. This
land, the other part of Germany, was somehow strange to me. One of the
unforgettable things was a mountain of debris in the middle of the city:
The remains of the Frauenkirche, with grass and even trees growing on
them. People walked by and didn’t notice this as special...
1992.
On 13 February I visited the ruin again. This is the day when the city
of Dresden has been bombed and destroyed. People met at the ruin of the
Frauenkirche, and they did this on their own without any pressure. They
brought candles and flowers, and although it was a big crowd the place
was completely silent.
This was impressive, and many people kept saying: Let’s keep the
ruins, as a memorial against war. Even the former Lutheran bishop
Johannes Hempel was against rebuilding the church – in those days.
1994.
The reconstruction of the church starts after a very intensive phase of
clearing the site (archaeological rubble clearance the specialists call
this...).
Those in favor of the reconstruction still were in the minority.
Ludwig Güttler, a master classical trumpet player who lives in Dresden
told me in a personal talk in the late 90ies: “90 percent of the people
were against it, ten in favor - and the last figure is sugarcoated!” But
the clearance and later the growing church changed the minds of the
critics - and today nearly every Dresdner is pretending to always have
been in favor...
Be that as it may: This construction site radiated fascination! A
lot of clever marketing helped earning the money that was needed to
rebuild this baroque church: A special watch was sold, there are friends
of the Frauenkirche all over the world collecting money and donating
generously.
So
the church grew - behind scaffolds that may not look so beautiful, but
which prevented the construction workers from rain and snow and wind and
the cold. They worked day and night, all year long - and they will not
only finish this building in time but nearly a year in advance - an
experience that hardly anybody has these days.
2000. The church is getting more and more
impressive - but with 30 meters (approximately 98 feet) it’s only one
third of the 90 meters (295 feet) that make the Frauenkirche the
dominant building in the skyline over the Elbe river in Dresden.
The unpittoresque scaffolds were nonetheless an eye-catcher, including
the transparent saying “Building bridges, living reconciliation”.
There
have been many signs of reconciliation, and perhaps the most noteworthy
story to tell is that of the pinnacle cross. It was crafted in England -
and it was done by the son of one of the pilots that dropped the bombs
over Dresden in February 1945. And even the money for this precious
cross came from the British people - it was the Dresden Trust that
financed it. Alan Smith, the the gold smith, has crafted his masterpiece
“just to say sorry”. His contribution to the reconstruction was ready
long before the cupola - and so it stood on the ground, visible in its
impressive height of 8 meters (approximately 26 feet). The Duke of Kent
presented the cross over in Dresden on 13 February – the 55th
anniversary of the bombing.
2001. In August the “butterfly stone” – with its 95
tons (approximately 105 short tons) the by far heaviest undestroyed
piece of the original Frauenkirche – came back on its original place in
35 meters height (114 feet). Every stone that had fallen down when the
church imploded in February 1945 had been measured and its original
place determined – with a little help of modern
computer technique that IBM sponsored. This is why you see 8,400 old
original dark (nearly black) stones side by side with 400,000 light new
sandstones. This special look where old meets new will vanish with time,
as sandstone reacts to environmental influences and changes its color.
The re-fitting of the butterfly stone was one of the many challenges
for the people on site. They had to combine old traditional
craftsmanship with modern technologies – and more than once they admired
George Bähr and his team who had build the original Frauenkirche 270
years ago.
2002. The scaffolds in the lower area of the
construction site fall off - the Frauenkirche presents itself quasi
bottom-less and can be seen in its emerging new form. The 38 meters (124
feet) of the lower building with the scaffolds
now hovering on top (and growing, because they are lifted with the
continuing rise of the church) give an impressive picture of the future.
This was the time when the construction workers realized that working
on the site of the Frauenkirche may have something of a wonder: The
building was raised faster than it was planned - and the costs nearly
stayed at the forecasted figure of 179,000,000 Euro.
2003 nearly half this sum had been collected
through fundraising. This is the year where the church bells arrive that
give the town the most many-voiced peal of bells. The bells had to be
made twice: During the process of moulding everything was fine, but when
the bells had solidified the sound was less than perfect: There were
too many ornaments (the original bells only had quotations from the
bible).
Dissonances not only with the first set of bells but with the organ, too. Should it be rebuild like the
original by the famous organ builder Gottfried Silbermann or should it
have a modern character? Shall the organ be made in Saxony or elsewhere?
People argued wherever possible - but today nobody is really angry with
the decision to mandate the distinguished organ maker Daniel Kern in
Strassbourg / Alsace.
“We have reached the point of rebuilding that George Bähr saw when
he died in 1738”, says Eberhard Burger, master builder of the
reconstruction. Burger studied civil engineering in Dresden - on a
street named after George Bähr, who designed the Frauenkirche and who
was the first in Germany to go by the title of “Architect”.
Not only the “Baumeister” Eberhard Burger is thinking of his
predecessor. Bricklayers, stonecutters and carpenters often bethink:
“Here on this site we created things we never made before - and it was
an experience to see how traditional ways of work help us solve the
problems today!” And again he who says this is full of admiration.
2004. The scaffolds have been removed, and the characterizing dome
of the church can be seen from many places in Dresden. Only a water
drainage roof marks the shape of the lantern on top of the dome, which
deserves its name now more than ever, because after nightfall it is lit
from inside.
The exterior of the church is nearly ready - and it looks
complete after 22 June. On this rainy and windy day the cross is being
put on top of the lantern. With it the church reaches its height of 91
meters (298 feet) – and the skyline of Dresden has its familiar pre-1945
view back.
What
normal tourists don’t see is the work inside the church - for safety
reasons (and later probably public relations as well) nobody was allowed
to go inside. Well, actually, hardly anybody... During my first visit
inside in August 2002 there was not really much to see: One trial axis
and some samples of the wooden interior. The main work was on top, where
the two domes were set - for static reasons only new sandstones have
been assembled.
Two domes? Yes, there are two. One on the inside, with paintings of
the Evangelists and allegories of Christian virtues. Portrait artist
Christoph Wetzel is the artist who painted the motives – and he also had
to learn old techniques to master the problem: The few colors he used
were mixed after old recipes with eggs and linseed oil. 35 meters (82
feet) high he painted, kneeling and standing and lying and cowering and
sometimes even doing the splits on a special turning stand. And again
the old question: How did they manage this in 1734, how difficult must
it have been for the Venecian baroque painter Giovanni Battista Grone to
paint the dome?
The
inner cupola has an opening on top so you can see the outer dome. The
6,500-ton sandstone dome often is called “stone bell” because this is
what it looks like. With a free span over 23,5 meters (77 feet) and only
eight thin columns on its perimeter to bear the load, it was a
visionary masterpiece of craftsmanship, developed by a single man who
was just a carpenter: George Bähr.
The outer dome arches 20 meters above the inner cupola – a church
above the church. And a way up to the lantern on top, which is one of
the finest places to take a look at the world heritage of the Elbe in
Dresden. But there’s not too much room up there on top of the church, so
you may have to wait and queue.
This is perhaps the one and only point where George Bähr, the
ingenious designer of the Frauenkirche, failed. He simply didn’t plan
the merchandising of this exquisite place...
