THE FRAUENKIRCHE: CAN WE LEARN?
The church, originally built in the 11th Century, was Catholic until it became Protestant in the 16 Century during the Reformation. The church was rebuilt from scratch as a purely Protestant church in the 18th Century by the citizens of Dresden. It reflected both Luther’s liturgical ideas as well as their protest against August the Strong’s recent conversion to Catholicism with its unique, never seen before single unit of pulpit, altar, baptismal font and organ.
The church was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during WWII. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial until the church was finally reconstructed in 2006.
Elisabeth was born in Dresden and lived in the East German city for many years. Her story of the history of the Frauenkirche, including its destruction and ultimate rebuilding from a heap of decaying ruins, is told as someone who experienced the incredible determination of the German people to restore this church. What did the Germans learn from the Frauenkirche, and what are the lessons for the rest of the world.
I am interested in the Frauenkirche Lecture: