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Introduction
The City of Dresden in Saxony has long had a reputation
as a cultural treasure. Its beautiful skyline is beginning
to be dominated once more by its cathedral, the Frauenkirche.
This building above all is the symbol of the city, with
its distinctive shape.
The dome is built completely of stone, forming a continuous
whole with the lower part of the structure. This gives
it its unique appearance and it is aptly called "The
Stone Bell."
With the destruction of Dresden in World War II, it
looked as if the beautiful city and its symbol had vanished
forever. After the reunification of Germany a new opportunity
arose to rebuild the Frauenkirche. This is now well
under way.
Where possible the original stones and materials are
being used and carefully reassembled. For much of the
time new pieces have to be made to the exact specification
of the old. An important example of this has been the
golden Orb and Cross for the very top of the building.
A 15-year programme to restore Dresden’s
Frauenkirche reached its climax on June 22 when a new
Orb and Cross was placed on top of the rebuilt cathedral.
Rolls-Royce has been a member of the Dresden Trust
for more than seven years and John McCartney of Procurement
Operations was in the former East German city to witness
the event at a ceremony attended by more than 60,000.
“In 1989, following the fall of the communist
regime, a call went out from Dresden to rebuild the
Frauenkirche as a symbol of peace and reconciliation,”
he recalled.
The Dresden Trust was formed to provide a new Orb and
Cross built in the UK as a mark of joint reconciliation
with Germany. The people of Dresden had never lost their
dream of seeing the cathedral, the biggest Lutheran
church in Germany, rebuilt after it was destroyed in
the Second World War.
John was involved in writing the contract the contract
for the supply of the Orb and Cross, providing translation,
photographic and other support.
Next year the cathedral will be completed finally inside
and re-dedicated.
“The project does not look back to the past but
looks to the future and it has been a great privilege
to be involved,” said John.
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