For a long time this temple was a monument to the terrible bombing of the city by the Allies in 1945, when 25-35 thousand people died. This event remains one of the most controversial attacks of the Second World War. According to many historians, the destruction of the city in February 1945 was no longer of military significance.
The British charity "Dresden Foundation" raised funds to partially pay for the restoration work. The gold sphere and the cross, crowning the Church of Our Lady, were made by an English craftsman, whose father participated in the raid on the city.
The Frauenkirche, a 1743 building, a masterpiece of the German Baroque, withstood the bombing, but collapsed a few hours later from the heat of a fire blazing around. The ruins were not rebuilt by the GDR government, leaving them as a reminder of the British aggression. After the end of the Cold War, it was decided to rebuild the church.
Only 60% of the interior could be restored from drawings and old photographs, data on the remaining 40% were obtained in the course of a painstaking study of the surviving architectural details. The Frauenkirche will be consecrated in October this year.
