Neumarkt
The Neumarkt is a square in Dresden's old town, laid out in the mid-16th century, and the Frauenkirche stands on it.
What it is
A bronze statue of Martin Luther, after a design by Ernst Rietschel, stands on the Neumarkt. The monument is dated 1885.
History
The area of the Neumarkt has belonged to Dresden since 1548, and the square was laid out in the mid-16th century. In the Renaissance the square took its shape, lined with gabled houses, and it was built up further in the early Baroque.
The Frauenkirche was built on the square from 1726 to 1743 to George Bähr's design. The Seven Years' War, from 1756 to 1763, badly damaged the area, and the square was rebuilt in a plainer late-Baroque style. The square saw barricade fighting in the revolution of May 1849.
After the destruction of 1945 the area around the square was cleared of its ruins and stayed largely unbuilt until the 1990s. For decades the ruin of the Frauenkirche on the square was kept as a memorial. The rebuilding of the quarters around the square followed the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche and took up the street plan of before 1945.