Dresden Cathedral, Dresden, Germany

Dresden Cathedral (Hofkirche) stands as one of Dresden's foremost landmarks. It was designed by architect Gaetano Chiaveri from 1738 to 1751. The church was commissioned by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland while the Protestant city of Dresden built the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) between 1726 and 1743. The Catholic Elector decided that a Catholic church was needed in order to counterbalance the Protestant Frauenkirche.

In the crypt the heart of King Augustus the Strong is buried along with the last King of Saxony and the remains of 49 other members of the Wettin family, as well as the remains of people who married into the family, such as Princess Maria Carolina of Savoy, wife of Anthony of Saxony.

The church was badly damaged during the bombing of Dresden of the Second World War and was restored during the mid-1980s by the East German government. Today it is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen.

The cathedral features a carefully restored organ, the last work of the renowned organ builder Gottfried Silbermann. It also contains a Rococo pulpit by Balthasar Permoser.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Euan Tait Retreats Libretti (2 years ago)
This great Baroque masterpiece among the city's great architecture - including the thrill of the figurative sculptures looking on the world passing.

Simon Holderried (2 years ago)
One of biggest , most important late works of baroque architecture and a wonderful neighbor of the Frauenkirche. Not fully finished with interior in the 1750s but yet impressive.

Jiboo piu (3 years ago)
Very beautiful. It's a Catholic Church that gives Lutheran vibes. The architecture is baroque and a few monuments look almost "communist" or somehow very spartan. Definitely worth visiting

Alejandro Montiel (3 years ago)
This Catholic Cathedral was completed in 1751. It is the most important Catholic cathedral in the city. It was badly damaged during the Second World War but it was restored in the 1960's. If you walk from the Main Station you will reach it in 15-20 minutes.

Kendall Byrge (3 years ago)
Truly a spectacular building and area. Personally, my favorite view is from the front of the Zwinger and looking over.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Dresden Cathedral

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche