The time capsule

It has become quite a custom in modern times to bury a time capsule in the foundations of new building or to mark an important event. A capsule may contain documents or objects with details of the building or to show what life was like at the time.

While the old orb and cross was being removed from the ruins of the Frauenkirche, two metal caskets fastened with wire were found. These had been placed in the sphere of the orb when it was placed over 90 metres above the ground at the top of the dome of the Frauenkirche in 1743. These caskets remained untouched until the church collapsed due to the fire from air raids in February 1945.

The caskets were rediscovered in 1996 as the remains of the Frauenkirche were being cleared and investigated. The papers they contained had been blackened into ashes when the orb and cross fell into the burning building, however some commemorative medals, which had been struck for the laying of the foundation stone of the church on 26 August 1726, had survived the fall and the fire.