pilgrimage

Rise From The Ashes

As I started paying more attention, I have noticed on food labels the word “ash” in measurements in grams listed (as a component) about the nutrient content of the food. While we might picture the leftover residue at the bottom of the fireplace, ash is actually a general term that can refer to a number of substances in our food. I am informed that ash refers to any inorganic material, such as minerals, present in food and can include both compounds with essential minerals such as potassium and calcium and toxic materials such as mercury.

Everyone has a different perception of the meaning of “Rise From The Ashes”. In the right context or circumstance and without pomp we would probably speak of a “come back”. In popular culture the allegorical symbol, the phoenix, which symbolizes rebirth often appears. In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a bird that cyclically regenerates itself or is otherwise born again. In another classical mythology, the phoenix which lived for five hundred years in the Arabian desert would burn itself on a funeral pyre ignited by the sun and then reborn itself from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle of life. The simile “like a phoenix from the ashes” is used to describe someone or something that has made a fresh start after experiencing destruction. For Christians, ash is used on Ash Wednesday. The ashes usually come from the burnt Palms of the previous year’s Passion Sunday celebration. So, these ashes bring Christians back to the last celebration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. On the first day of Lent, Christians begin a journey of renewal – from death to life.

From Prague to Dresden

We were in the Czech Republic during our “sojourn” in Central Europe in the month of October 2018. I had rented an Ab&b studio apartment at Soukenicka in Prague where we intended to stay for a short while with the hope of immersing ourselves in the culture of this beautiful old city. As Dresden in Eastern Germany is only approximately 150 km by road from our studio in Prague, I had (in the process of planning for this Central Europe sojourn) determined to pay the city a visit.

We decided to take the Flixbus coach to Dresden. It took us about 15-20 mins walk from our studio to the UAN Florenc Station in Prague. I had my backpack on and really “didn’t feel old” even though I squirmed and felt uncomfortable at the thought of the cliché. I didn’t like the look as I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection on the shop window or the side mirror of the parked car. This wasn’t the person who drove the Lotus Elan not so long ago. Then I remembered bus drivers having second look at me when I showed them my senior’s bus ticket. Age is indeed a matter of perspective.

The trip by Flixbus took us in less than two hours from Prague to Dresden. We checked into the Intercity Hotel in the new city square which was only a short walk from the Dresden main train station. The counter staff at the hotel upgraded us to a larger (and presumably quieter) room and gave us two free city transport tickets valid for two days even though the center of the historic district, is within a 10-15 mins walk away. This was the perfect location as it was also near a few tram stops and we did make use of the tickets for numerous tram rides taking us over the river into a lively district called Neustadt, or the “New Town”.

Lying on the bank of the scenic Elbe River the city of Dresden is lush and filled with gardens and parks. It is one of the greenest cities in all of Europe, with 63% of the city being green areas and forests. It is rich in arts and culture. The great opera composer Wilhelm Wagner debuted a number of works here in the 1800s. The melange of styles reflected in the cityscapes would satisfy most people who are interested in museums and architecture.

The main focus of my journey to this city was the newly rebuilt Frauenkirche. I was informed that 75% of the historical centre of Dresden was destroyed by the Allied bombing in 1945. Dresden was the seventh-largest city of Germany and a cultural center known as the “Florence on the Elbe.” Dresden was also a beautiful baroque city and all that was best in Germany. However, it is said that it also contained all of the worst from Germany during the Nazi period. But why Dresden? It was noted by some that from a military perspective, no one understands why the city was targeted. The end of the war was probably already in sight and Dresden had no garrisons. From another perspective, Dresden, though a center for the arts, was also one of Germany’s largest remaining industrial sites. It had over 100 factories of various sizes, some of these were facilities for producing artilleries, aircraft components, and poison gas. In addition, it was a key hub with railway lines running north to Berlin and south to Prague and Vienna. Rails also ran to Munich, Leipzig, and Hamburg. It was the largest remaining city in the Third Reich not yet bombed by the Allied Forces. But on the night of February 13, 1945, the RAF reduced Dresden’s 18th-century cathedral to rubble in an air raid. The destruction of Dresden was epically tragic. The bombing by the British Royal Air Force has become a symbol of excessive violence on the part of the Allied Forces during World War II. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, with the reunification of Germany and a period of reconstruction, Dresden once again returned to a position of prominence in German cultural life. The historical centre is nowadays largely restored to its former glory. However, some parts of the city are still under reconstruction. At the time of our visit in October 2018, Dresden boasts more than 50 art galleries, 40 museums, and 30 theaters. This includes the “Green Vault,” a unique museum boasting a collection of former royal treasures.

The Dresden Frauenkirche

The reconstructed Dresden Frauenkirche, the focus of my visit to Dresden, is a Lutheran church with a statue of Martin Luther standing visibly for every visitor to behold. The much earlier old church building was Catholic until it became Protestant during the reformation. The old church was replaced in the 18th century by a larger Baroque Lutheran building. The original baroque church designed by Dresden’s city architect George Bähr (one of the greatest masters of German Baroque style), was constructed between 1726 and 1743. It was regarded as the finest baroque building north of the Alps. But in consequence of an air raid by the RAF on February 13, 1945, the Cathedral collapsed. Nothing was done to it after the War and under Communist Rule. For more than 45 years the residents of Dresden viewed the church as nothing, but a huge mound of rubble flanked by two jagged walls.

In 1989, with the unification of Germany, a noted Dresden musician Ludwig Güttler headed a 14-member group of enthusiasts to form a Citizens’ Initiative. Consequently, “The Society to Promote the Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche,” emerged. An enthusiastic and aggressive private fund-raising campaign began. The organization grew to over 5,000 members in Germany and 20 other countries. The project gathered momentum as hundreds of architects, art historians, and engineers began sorting out the thousands of stones, identifying and labeling each for reuse in the new structure. Others worked to raise money. “The church is to Dresden what St Paul’s is to London. This is true both architecturally and psychologically,” said Dr. Paul Oestreicher, a Canon emeritus of Coventry Cathedral and a founder of the Dresden Trust. The new Frauenkirche, which was finished in 2005, is now considered one of the greatest pieces of architecture in the world.

The Frauenkirche is a centralized octagonal building i.e. the lower part of the church has the form of an octagon. There are 7 doors leading into the main church. The structure is topped by four corner towers and crowned by a circular dome built totally of sandstone with a stone “lantern”. With its height of 24 m and diameter of 26 m, it is said to be the largest stone dome north of the Alps. The dome’s shape is also unique and distinctive on many counts with the curved base giving it a bell-like look, which is why the Frauenkirche was also nicknamed the “Stone Bell”.

As we entered the church we were completely mesmerized by the beauty of its interior. I was given to understand that large chunks of statues, like the one depicting Moses, were cleaned and incorporated into the new structure. Nearly 80 percent of the altar was reconstructed using the original materials. It seemed to me that the pulpit was nearer to the centre of Chancel and it made me wonder whether this physical location of the pulpit is one of the visual affirmations of the rudiments of Lutheranism.

For many years the ruins and now the newly rebuilt Frauenkirche acts as a call for peace among the different nations of the world. I am given to understand that since the completion in 2005, the Frauenkirche foundation´s emphasis for the church (besides preservation) has moved towards using it for charitable and religious purposes. An opportunity has also been provided for everyone to visit the fantastic baroque interior and to walk up (within the dome) to the “lantern” for a look at the reconstructed city elow.

We ascended up the cupola to the “lantern” and did enjoy, from all directions, the spectacular views of the city and the countryside.

Further up the “lantern” on the top of the church sits the new tower cross in its rightful place. I am informed that a group of donors from Britain had paid for the cross, in a sort of British mea culpa for the bombing! The silversmith who built the new cross is the son of one of the British bomber pilots who participated in the massive firebombing raid on the night of February 13, 1945, which killed tens of thousands of people. Dresden Bishop Jochen Bohl said in a sermon during the consecration service: “A deep wound that has bled for so long can be healed. From hate and evil a community of reconciliation can grow, which makes peace possible”. The reconstructed church, reconsecrated on October 30, 2005, has demonstrated the possibility of rebirth and has risen from the ashes of the Second World War.