Kreuzkirche
Rising over the Altmarkt with its ninety two meter tower, the Kreuzkirche is the largest church in Saxony and the ancient home of the world famous Dresdner Kreuzchor boys' choir. Its deliberately rough, unfinished interior stands as a quiet monument to the city's destruction and rebirth.
About this place
The Church of the Holy Cross has stood at the corner of the Altmarkt for more than eight centuries, though the building you see today is its fourth incarnation. A Romanesque basilica dedicated to Saint Nicholas rose here in the twelfth century, and a side chapel holding a splinter said to be from the True Cross gave the church its enduring name. Fire, cannon fire during the Seven Years' War, and finally the firestorm of February 1945 each reduced it to ruin, and each time Dresden rebuilt. When the church reopened in 1955, its interior was left in bare, rough plaster rather than restored to Baroque splendor, a conscious decision to let the scars remain visible. Above it all soars the tower, whose viewing platform rewards the climb with a sweeping panorama of the reborn Altstadt. Inside, the church remains the spiritual home of the Dresdner Kreuzchor, one of the oldest boys' choirs in the world.
Key facts
- 92 meters — The height of the tower, whose viewing platform overlooks the entire old town
- 700 years — How long the Dresdner Kreuzchor boys' choir has sung within these walls
- 3000 seats — Making the Kreuzkirche the largest church building in all of Saxony
📍 An der Kreuzkirche 1, 01067, Dresden