About this place
Rising over Theaterplatz between the Semperoper and the castle, the Catholic Court Church, today the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the largest church building in all of Saxony. It was raised between 1738 and 1751 by the Italian architect Gaetano Chiaveri for Augustus III, a deliberate Catholic answer to the Protestant Frauenkirche then rising nearby. Its slender 85 metre bell tower and its parade of 78 three metre statues make it one of the defining silhouettes of the baroque skyline. Inside sleeps the last great organ built by Gottfried Silbermann, while below the marble floor the Wettin crypt guards the remains of Saxony's royal dynasty and the famous urn holding the heart of Augustus the Strong.
Key facts
- 78 statues — Sandstone saints and apostles, each about three metres tall, line the balustrade
- 85 metres — The height of the elegant bell tower, often likened to the mast of a stone ship
- 1751 year — The church was consecrated after thirteen years of construction under Gaetano Chiaveri
📍 Schloßstraße 24, 01067, Dresden