Kreuzkirche
The Kreuzkirche is the main Protestant church of Dresden's old town, on the south-east side of the Altmarkt, and the home of the Dresdner Kreuzchor.
What it is
The Dresdner Kreuzchor, the city's boys' choir, sings the church's services, vespers and concerts here.
History
The church was first dedicated to St Nicholas. It has been called the Church of the Holy Cross (Kirche zum Heiligen Kreuz) since a new high altar was consecrated in 1388. Since the Reformation was introduced in Albertine Saxony in 1539 it has been the city's main church.
In the Seven Years' War the church was destroyed by Prussian artillery fire in 1760. The present building was built from 1764 to 1792. Its planning began under Johann Georg Schmidt and was changed several times with Friedrich August Krubsacius, Christian Friedrich Exner and Gottlob August Hölzer, giving it more classicist forms.
A fire in 1897 left only the outer walls and the tower. The interior was rebuilt and the church was consecrated again in 1900. It burnt out in the air raids of February 1945, but its structure survived. It was rebuilt from 1946 and consecrated again in 1955.
In 1989 the church was a place of peace prayers and citizens' meetings during the Peaceful Revolution.
The interior
The interior was deliberately kept plain after the rebuilding, and this character was kept in the restoration completed in 2006. The organ is a Jehmlich organ consecrated in 1963.