Dresden Frauenkirche

By far, the single most famous landmark of Dresden is the Frauenkirche or Church of Our Lady, built in lovely pale pink stone. Located diagonally opposite Dresden Castle, the church has a towering dome on which sits a golden cross. Together, this forms the main part of the old city’s silhouette whether seen from the river or otherwise. It was originally built in the 18th century in Baroque style with references to the Vatican’s St Peter’s Basilica. However, and tragically at that, it was completely destroyed during the bombing. Even more tragically, while many other fallen buildings around it were reconstructed, the church however lay in a heap of stones. It was supposedly left in that state deliberately by the East German government as a ‘symbol’ of British aggression. But after reunification in 1990, a group of concerned Dresden citizens appealed for international help for rebuilding. Donations poured in and the church was reconstructed using the original stones wherever possible. Interestingly, the 8-m golden cross on top of the dome was almost completely funded through British contributions and constructed by goldsmith Alan Smith, whose father Frank was part of the RAF squadron which had bombed Dresden!