Main Catholic Cathedral of Dresden – Hofkirche.

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Main Catholic Cathedral of Dresden – Hofkirche.

The Hofkirche stands as one of Dresden's foremost landmarks. It was designed by architect Gaetano Chiaveri from 1738 to 1751. The church was commissioned by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. The church was badly damaged in February 1945 during the bombing of Dresden in the Second World War. The building was restored by the year 1962 by the East German government.

In the crypts the heart of King Augustus the Strong is buried along with the last King of Saxony and the remains of 49 other members of the Wettin family, as well as the remains of people who married into the family, such as Princess Maria Carolina of Savoy, wife of Anthony of Saxony.

The oldest of four crypts, the Founders' Crypt, holds the tombs of King Augustus III of Poland, one of very few Polish Kings to be buried outside the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, and last Queen of Poland Maria Josepha. It is also burial place of the heart of King Augustus the Strong, whose body was interred in the Wawel Cathedral, and of Polish ruler and first Saxon King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. Polish princes and princesses are buried in the Founders' Crypt and the Great Crypt.

Object data

Title

Main Catholic Cathedral of Dresden – Hofkirche.

Artist

A. von R. Brauneis.

Founder

Kunstverlag Rudolf Brauneis, Dresden.

Date

1910.

Culture

German.

Classification

Postcard.