Doors - Czech trip, post #14

“Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.” (Luke 13:24, New Living Translation) 

The second day of our trip to the Czech Republic, I became fascinated with all the doors. In every city we visited, I found more than a couple of doors which were beautiful. Doors which told a story; wooden doors with intricate carvings; huge, heavy doors; and even a few narrow ones. 

But at most of them, I had doubts if anyone would answer my knock, much less let me in. Luckily, God will answer when I’m knocking on heaven’s door.

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8, New International Version)

These are only half of the ones I took pictures of!

And there were many more I didn't capture on my camera at all. 

Rebirth in a German City, part II - Czech Blog post #13

Today’s massive amount of information surrounds the Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady in Dresden.

The original Baroque Lutheran church was built between 1726 and 1743. 

The church had a distinctive high dome, measuring 220 feet high, and was called the "Stone Bell". When it was being built, no one thought the building would hold up the weight of the 12,000 ton dome. Despite those doubts, the dome proved to be extremely stable. In 1760, the dome was hit by over one hundred cannonballs fired during the Seven Years' War and held strong.

Sadly, the building was no match for two days and nights of bombing by the Allied Forces in February of 1945.

At first it seemed as if the church had a will of its own, or God’s arms were supporting it, because it stood long enough for three hundred people who had sheltered there to escape.

From the extreme heat from fires inside, the dome finally collapsed at 10 a.m. on 15 February.  The walls shattered and nearly 6,000 tons of stone plunged to earth.

Somehow, the altar was only partially damaged during the bombing raid and fire.

The blackened stones would remain in a pile in the city center for 45 years as Communists took over the entire region, which had become the country of East Germany, under the Russians. 

During that time, residents would salvage stone fragments from the church, numbering them for future use in reconstruction. It would be many years before the rebuilding could begin.

By 1989, tens of thousands of East German citizens were protesting against the Communists rule. Finally on November 9, the Berlin Wall came down, and the way was paved for Germany to be reunited.

Very soon after that, the residents of Dresden began meeting to find a way to rebuild their beloved church. It would take thousands of dedicated people years to realize their dream. 

But this is how I know I have German roots – when we are dedicated to something, we will dig in our heels and get it done. 

And so, the people of Dresden raised the support they needed. And not only financially.

Hundreds of architects, art historians, and engineers were recruited to sort through the massive piles of stones and determine which ones were safe to reuse. Computer technology helped to figure out where each stone belonged. On the new church, you can easily pick out the old stones by their dark color. 

Using original plans from the 1720s, reconstruction finally began in February 1992.

The goal was to finish the ambitious project by 2006, in celebration of the 800-year anniversary of the city of Dresden. It was completed a year early in 2005.  

The new golden tower cross was donated by the British people and the House of Windsor. Made by a British silversmith company, one of the main craftsmen on the project was the son of one of the bomber pilots who destroyed the church in 1945. 

The cross that once topped the dome, now twisted and charred, is displayed to the right of the new altar.

A bronze statue of reformer and theologian Martin Luther survived the bombings and now stands in front of the church. 

After we toured the main church and were going to leave, a small sign by a staircase caught my eye. I whispered to my friend, “let’s go down there”. Turns out the basement of Frauenkirche has a large display of documents and artifacts from the church's destruction in WWII. In a catacomb-like setting, each room told a story of faith and resilience. I was respectful of the signs asking to not take pictures, but it was such a moving place to visit. You can look up pictures of it yourself on line. 

(All these pictures were, of course, taken in September 2025 when I there and don't all reflect what I was writing about by each one. I can't do it all.)

A German City, part I - Czech Blog post #12

Monday, September 29, was our second-to-last day in the Czech Republic. That morning, we headed out of the country to the German city of Dresden. You may know that my dad was born in Germany way back in 1915 – yikes, that was 110 years ago! Anyway, I've always wanted to go there. When we were trying to decide what trip to take this fall, Germany was on the short list, but for whatever reason, the trip to the Czech Republic sounded more interesting. Don't worry, Germany is still on the list, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next spring.

Okay, so much to see in Dresden, I'd better get going. 

Dresden has been called "Florence on the Elbe", because of its beautiful Baroque and Rococo architecture and culture, which reminded many of Florence, Italy. The Elbe River, one of Central Europe's major rivers, winds its way through Dresden. 

Dresden was first established in the early 13th century and soon became an important trade center. Of course, way back then, it wasn't Germany. In the early years, much of Europe vacillated between different dynasties and kingdoms, including being run by the Holy Roman Empire and the whole Middle Ages thing. Even though I read about it on Wikipedia, much of the history is lost on me.

So, let's start with what most of us remember about German history. World War II.

By 1945, Hitler and his Nazi regime were losing a lot of ground. They weren't, however, ready to give up altogether.

Because Dresden had been a major communications and manufacturing center, the Allied forces believed there were munitions factories within the city. Beginning on the night of February 13, 1945, the British and United States Air Forces dropped thousands of tons of bombs on the city center. By the time they were done, two days later, they had flattened the historic center of the town, and nearly 25,000 people, mostly women and children, had been killed.

Coincidentally, I'm reading the book, "Where The Birds Never Sing: The True Story of the 92nd Signal Battalion and the Liberation of Dachau", and I just read the part where the men reach Dresden. After being in the war for nearly a year, they were still shocked by the destruction. 

The truly amazing thing is that near the start of the war, officials in Dresden packed up as much artwork as they could, along with detailed plans of the historic buildings, and hid those artifacts in the mountains. They never imagined their city would be destroyed; they were worried about looters coming through at some point in the war.

Okay, that's way too much history. 

Our first stop, as we listened to all of that history, was the Residenzschloss or Dresden Royal Palace. 

Construction of the former residence of the Electors and Kings of Saxony began in 1548 and wasn't completed until 1901.

It was destroyed in 1945, along with the rest of the buildings in the area. Reconstruction didn't begin until 1986 and has not yet been completed. 

Recreating the plasterwork on the large inner courtyard is a painstaking, slow process. 

The technique is called Sgraffito, a term meaning to scratch. When you were a kid, did you ever color a piece of paper with all the colors of the rainbow, then color over that with black crayon? Then you'd scrape off the black with a knife to make a design that showed all the colors. Know what I'm talking about? That's kind of what this was like, only on a much grander and more refined scale.   

There are multiple museums throughout the castle complex, but we had a lot more of the city to see in our few hours there. More about that – and less history (maybe) – on Friday.

She maybe wasn't a saint, but she's my saint just the same.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:4-10, New International Version) 

          I was ready to write about doors today – the narrow door which Jesus said only the faithful would enter and pictures of all the doors we saw in the Czech Republic. Until it dawned on me that this is All Saints Weekend in the Church.

          At our church, the pastor reads the names of the parishioners who have left this world over the past year and the dates when they woke up as saints in heaven with Jesus, as the bell gongs for each of them. There are always a few people listed whom I knew personally, and I always get teary-eyed.

          I haven’t brought it up lately, but I’m sure you remember that my darling daughter died in August, ten weeks ago, the day before yesterday. The bell won’t chime at our church this weekend in her name, because she was no longer a member. But according to our pastor and according to God, when He clearly told me where Val is, she is in heaven in the arms of Jesus.

          I know many people she knew won’t believe that; they didn’t know Jesus as their Savior. And I know some people who knew the kind of life Val had been living won’t believe she could possibly be forgiven and saved. And I know that some will even think to themselves, “Poor Chris, she’s just a mother grasping in hope that she’ll see her baby girl again someday.”

          But I know what I know. It’s more than faith and hope; it is what I KNOW because I have faith and hope. I pray that whatever you might be suffering from, you have that kind of faith and hope, too.

You belong among the wildflowers

You belong somewhere close to me

Far away from your trouble and worries

You belong somewhere you feel free

(from “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty, 1994)

(words from the tattoo on her shoulder)

Looking Down – Czech Blog Pots #11

I was going to start telling you about Dresden today, but then Hubby and I watched a movie last night, so I just didn’t get time to do a proper write-up on that German city. As it is, I think I’ll have to dedicate two entire posts to the beautiful, historic city.

So, instead, since it’s Halloween and I should do something different anyway, I want to remind you to look down – you never know what you’ll find. What I found were unique manhole covers!

The first three were all around Prague.

 

(This one might not really be a manhole cover, but more of a medallion of some kind in the street.)

This one in Český Krumlov.

One in Pilsen. (This also might be more of a memorial to this man.)

Then Dresden (which you will want to watch for more on next week!).

And finally, Kutná Hora.

Think artists submit their renderings and the city picks their favorite? 

Pilsen, home of Pilsner beer and more houses of worship - Czech Blog post #10

 

Sunday, September 28, we took the approximately 90-minute drive to the city of Pilsen, home of Pilsner beer. As I already mentioned on Sunday, the term Pilsner comes from, literally, “from Pilsen”, kind of like someone from America is called an American. 

The city of Pilsen was founded by King Wenceslas II. He was born in 1271, but his father died when he was only seven, so two other guys ruled during his younger years. They were not nice, and Wenceslas had to fight to rightfully serve as king. He finally was able to take over in 1296, but died of tuberculosis at the age of 33 in 1305. He was also king of Poland from 1296 to 1305, as well as Hungary. During his short reign, he built a great empire stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Danube River, as well as having several wives and many children.

This King Wenceslas II is not be confused with Good King Wenceslas, or Wenceslas the first, who was born in 907, and killed by his brother in 935 or 929. He is the patron saint of the Czech Republic and his feast day is September 28, which was the day we visited.

I thought there would be some sort of celebration going on in town, but basically, because it was a national holiday, most places were closed. Only small businesses are allowed to remain open. There had been some sort of goings-on in the town square but it was already shut down by the time we got there.

Anyway, we still saw a lot of things, most of which I don’t have a name for anymore. I should video the entire tour, right? So I can keep track of everything the tour guide says.

I did keep track of a few things. 

This is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

It is part of the Franciscan monastery, which was established in the early 1300s and contains some of the oldest buildings in Pilsen. 

The gothic St. Bartholomew Cathedral, also built in the 1300s, is huge by comparison and boasts the tallest church tower in the Czech Republic.  

It was also beautiful inside, but somewhat overwhelming.

 

Just a few blocks away is Europe's second largest synagogue, the world's fourth largest synagogue.

The Great Synagogue, with its onion domes atop two high towers, was built in the Moorish-Romanesque style in 1893.

During World War II, it was used for storage by the Nazis. When the few surviving area Jews returned after the war, they struggled to maintain the building and it fell into disrepair during the years of communism in what was then Czechoslovakia.

 

In the last 1990s, it was restored to its former beauty, but with a population of only 200 Jews in the city, only the small winter room is now used for worship.

Last religious house we visited that day was the Church of St. John of Nepomuk.

It was built between 1909 and 1911, and I could tell you more about it, but aren’t you churched out? And just because I was there on a Sunday, doesn’t mean I need to ramble on about all the churches we saw.

Though the summer flowers were dying, I still tried to get a picture of some in each city.