Dresden

Monday, we took a day trip to Dresden. It is located in eastern Germany near the border with the Czech Republic. We had a personal tour guide. Rev. Joachim Zirkler now works for the Lutheran World Federation in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. He still lives in Dresden and commutes back and forth on the weekends. Joachim was the pastor at Kreuzkirche in Dresden for 12 years. He also grew up in Dresden so we got an incredibly personal tour of what Dresden was like during the Communist occupation. 

Kruezkirche means Cross Church. The original church in the 1100s was Roman Catholic and claimed to have a piece of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. When the church burned during an attack, the piece of the cross burned. The church was converted to Protestant during the Reformation. The church was remained standing during the bombing of World War II, but the inside was burned out from the firebombs. 

The church hosts a world famous boys choir that draws huge crowds. The church can seat 3,500. 

Dresden has an incredible story and history. It has been conquered and rebuilt and conquered again. It is the site of one of the first peaceful protests to bring about the end of communism in 1989.

It is also the home of the palace and buildings of several princes and extravagant rulers.

The other fascinating place was Frauenkirche (Our Lady Church). Another former Roman Catholic/now Lutheran church. The church was completely destroyed in the bombing of WWII. The people of the city wanted to rebuild it after the fall of communist control. They used computer software and a lot of engineering to rebuild the stone dome church using as much of the rubble as they could.

The inside was a big surprise! As much as the Kreuzkirche was understated in its design, the Frauenkirche was over the top elaborate.

It was an amazing city with an awesome tour guide and my faithful son!