- Spiritual life
- Church music and concerts
- Lectures and readings
- Visits and guided tours
- Calendar of events
- History
- Reconstruction
- Building
- Frauenkirche Foundation
- Support Society
- Support and donations
- Service and shop
Memorial
The ruins were a reminder of Dresden's destruction and the horrors of war for four decades. It certainly couldn't be taken for granted that the pile of rubble be left in the heart of the city. For town planners it was more of a hindrance. It is only thanks to the doggedness of the Dresden Institute for the Preservation of Monuments and the Saxon State Custodian Prof. Hans Nadler in particular that the ruins were not removed. On the contrary, they were in fact secured: the altar area was enclosed by walls and roses planted on the pile of rubble.
At beginning of the 1960's, the idea caught on of preserving the ruin as a memorial against war and destruction. The City of Dresden Council finally resolved to officially declare the ruins of the church as a memorial and erected a commemorative plaque.
Since February 13, 1982, when young people first gathered in front of the ruins with candles, it has become a symbol for the peace movement in Eastern Germany and a place for non-violent protest. To this day, numerous people gather every February 13 at the Frauenkirche with candles to commemorate the dead and as a call for peace.
