I moved on from the Frauenkirche to the Kreuzkirche [Church of the Holy Cross], which also suffered in WWII as well as in several other disasters over the years. Established 500 years before the Frauenkirche, it was known as the Nicolaikirche as early as 1215, being reconsecrated as the Kreuzkirche in 1388. It has been destroyed by fire or military action four or five times over the years, and has been rebuilt each time. I found it calm and welcoming, with only a modest trickle of visitors. Panels hanging around the nave quietly promoted a reconciliation project based in Oswiecim, Poland, which has so far arranged over 2,500 group visits to Auschwitz.
I went outside and into the tower, a €2 ticket to climb to the top. The light was still very grey and totally lacking in contrast, and the best shots were looking down at the masses of new build going on in the centre of Dresden. The outside of the Kreuzkirche is even more difficult to photograph than the outside of the Frauenkirche as there's nowhere so stand back and get a view, and the external stone is very dark so hopeless looking up towards a pale grey sky.
After my tour of the Semperoper I came back to the Kreuzkirche for the organ recital at 3:00. I only had five minutes to get between the two, and I might have made it but for the diversions around the central Dresden roadworks, which probably added 500m to my route. So I actually arrived at 3:05, at the end of an introductory piece and a little speech in German. Then the main work which I'm sure was Bach, but I hadn't caught the title. Nice; a super church. |
