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World Heritage Site

Listed as a World Heritage Site, Dresden is one of Germany’s most interesting historic sites, because of its many baroque buildings the city has been given the nickname ‘Florence on the Elbe’.

One of the city’s most remarkable structures is the Frauenkirche. This original baroque church was built between 1726 and 1743 and was designed by Dresden's city architect George Bähr, one of the greatest masters of German Baroque style (who did not live to see the completion of his greatest work).

This famous landmark though, was totally destroyed during World War II, after devastating bombings in February 1945. The blackened stones would lie in wait in a pile in the centre of the city for the next 45 years.

The church was rebuilt in 2005 and is now a hugely popular tourist destination that has inspired other revitalisation projects throughout Europe.

Smart city - optimising traffic flow

Q-Park Dresden Neumarkt

Q-Park began working with local authorities to create a unique parking facility underneath the Frauenkirche. The initial aim was for the parking facility to function as a stand-alone car park, with plans to connect to all subsequent Q-Park underground parking facilities. This would optimise traffic flow and keep the historic landscape free of cars.

Since it's opening, two more underground parking facilities have been connected and are being co-managed by Q-Park, establishing our position in Dresden as the quality parking partner. This resulted in a new project partnership with the city for the construction of an additional high-quality parking facility underneath the historical square.

Dresden Neumarkt - a dazzling car free square

About the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche

After the country’s reunification (the wall fell in 1989, the reunion was in 1990), a group emerged “The Society to Promote the Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche”, which began an aggressive private fundraising campaign.

The project gathered momentum. As hundreds of architects, art historians and engineers sorted the thousands of stones, identifying and labelling each for re-use in the new structure, others worked to raise money.

The approximate original position of each stone could be determined from its position in the heap and with the help of a computer imaging programme that could move the stones three-dimensionally around the screen in various configurations, the architects could figure out where the original stones sat and how they fit together. As far as possible, the church – except for its dome – was rebuilt using original material and plans.

Catalogued fragments of the Frauenkirche ruins, September 1999

As the older stones are covered with a darker patina, due to fire damage and weathering, the difference between old and new stones will be clearly visible for a number of years after reconstruction. The intensive efforts to rebuild this world famous landmark were completed in 2005, one year earlier than originally planned, and in time for the 800-year anniversary of the City of Dresden in 2006.

Around 45% of the Frauenkirche comprises historical stone material including the parts of the ruin. 8,425 old ashlars alone were integrated during the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche. Around 80% of the altar is made of original material: 1,642 fragments were returned to their original positions.