00:00The Frauenkirche, Church of Our Lady, is a Lutheran church in Dresden, the capital of
00:12the German state of Saxony. Destroyed during the Allied firebombing of Dresden towards
00:17the end of World War II. The church was reconstructed between 1994 and 2005. The current structure
00:24is the third church building to stand at this site. The earliest was founded as a Catholic
00:29church before being converted to Protestantism during the Reformation. It was replaced in
00:34the 18th century by a larger Baroque Lutheran building. Considered an outstanding example
00:39of Protestant sacred architecture, it featured one of the largest domes in Europe. It was
00:44originally built as a sign of the will of the citizens of Dresden to remain Protestant
00:48after their ruler had converted to Catholicism. Having been reconstructed, it now also serves
00:54as a symbol of reconciliation between former warring enemies. After the destruction of
00:59the church in 1945, the remaining ruins were left for nearly half a century as a war memorial.
01:05Following decisions of local East German leaders. Following the reunification of Germany, it
01:10was decided to rebuild the church, starting in 1994. The reconstruction of its exterior
01:15was completed in 2004, and the interior the following year. The church was reconsecrated
01:21on 30 October 2005 with festive services lasting through the Protestant observance of Reformation
01:27Day on 31 October. The surrounding Neumarkt Square with its many valuable Baroque buildings
01:33was also reconstructed in 2004. The Frauenkirche is often called a cathedral, but it is not
01:38the seat of a bishop. The Church of the Landsbischof of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony
01:44is the Church of the Cross. Once a month, an Anglican Evensong is held in English, by
01:49clergy from St. George's Anglican Church, Berlin. Dresden market with the Frauenkirche,
01:55The 1749-1751 painting by Bernardo Bellotto, a church dedicated to Our Lady, Kirche zu
02:01unser Liebfrauen, was first built in the 11th century in a Romanesque style. Outside the
02:07city walls and surrounded by a graveyard, the Frauenkirche was the seat of an archpriest
02:11in the Meissen diocese until the Reformation, when it became a Protestant church. This first
02:17Frauenkirche was torn down in 1727 and replaced by a new, larger church with a greater capacity.
02:23The Frauenkirche was rebuilt as a Lutheran, Protestant parish church by the citizenry.
02:29Even though Saxony's prince-elector, Frederick August I, had converted to Catholicism to
02:34become king of Poland. He supported the construction which not only gave an impressive cupola to
02:39the Dresden townscape but also reassured the Saxonians that their ruler was not going to
02:43force the principal quius regio, eius religio upon them. The original Baroque church was
02:49built between 1726 and 1743 and was designed by Dresden's city architect, George Barr,
02:56who did not live to see the completion of his greatest work. Barr's distinctive design
03:01for the church captured the new spirit of the Protestant liturgy by placing the altar,
03:05pulpit, and baptismal font directly center given the entire congregation. In 1736, famed
03:12organ maker Gottfried Silbermann built a three-manual, 43-stop instrument for the church. The organ
03:18was dedicated on the 25th of November and Johann Sebastian Bach gave a recital on the
03:22instrument on the 1st of December. The church's most distinctive feature was its unconventional
03:28high dome, 67 meters high, called die Steinernglöck or stone bell, an engineering feat comparable
03:34to Michelangelo's dome for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The Frauenkirche's 12,000-ton sandstone
03:41dome stood high resting on eight slender supports. Despite initial doubts, the dome proved to
03:46be extremely stable. Witnesses in 1760 said that the dome had been hit by more than 100
03:52cannonballs fired by the Prussian army led by Friedrich II during the Seven Years' War.
03:57For more than 200 years, the bell-shaped dome stood over the skyline of Old Dresden, dominating
04:02the city.
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