The beauty of what was once Dresden died two horrible deaths during the 20th century. The first came at the hands of British and American bombers who obliterated the city in the closing days of World War II. The second came from the East German Communists who nobly rebuilt sections of the city, but desecrated other parts with horrible socialist architecture.
The Communists decided to leave one particular building in ruins as a reminder of the horrors of war. The problem was that this building, the baroque masterpiece Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), had been the glorious centerpiece of a city once bursting with so much exquisite architecture it was often compared to Florence.
Shortly after German reunification, a strong push was made to rebuild this masterpiece and return it to its former glory as the icon of Dresden. It took over 15 years, but a few months ago work was finally completed and the Frauenkirche rose majestically from the ashes of World War II.
Now if we could only bomb all that socialist architecture…