Germany: Königstein and Freiberg

Festung Königstein is a mountaintop fortress near Dresden in Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland) National Park near the town of Königstein.  The fortress was used as a state prison and is one of Saxony's foremost tourist attractions with 700,000 visitors per year.

A castle since the mid-13th century situated on a prominent isolated rock,  it originally belonged to the Kings of Bohemia and then passed to the Dukes of Saxony in 1408.  Between 1516 and 1524, it included a monastery, but it always remained a stronghold and a fortress with its own garrison; the fortifications were always updated and enlarged to meet the latest requirements of arms technology. 

 

 

Because Königstein Fortress was regarded as unconquerable, the Saxon monarchs retreated to it from Wittenberg and later Dresden during times of crisis and also deposited the state treasure and many works of art from the famous Zwinger here.  It was also used as a country retreat due to its lovely surroundings.  The Königstein also became the state prison until 1922 for the most important prisoners.

Königstein was never taken, not even during World War II.  However, on April 17, 1942, French General Henri Giraud successfully escaped German captivity from the castle.

 

We had a great time seeing the fortress.  There was an audio tour with descriptions and historical facts about each building and the surrounding area.  My boys would have loved to hear about the different defenses used to ward off attackers.  My personal favorite was the hot oil dumped on the enemy if they even made it past the outer defenses and through the inside gate. 

This is currently being renovated into a hotel

These flowers are called "Bleeding Heart".  They were so pretty.

We also enjoyed the amazing views from the top.  I loved seeing the German homes scattered throughout the valleys and trees.  The Elbe river flows right through the middle of some of the towns.  It looked like a lot of Germans would have to take the ferry across the river to get to the marketplace to do their shopping.  The villages looked so quaint and peaceful nestled among the mountains and hills.  It was easy to dream of living here someday.

We also toured the Bastei, a spectacular rock formation towering 194 meters above the Elbe River.   Reaching a height of 305 meters above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ago.  It is a major landmark of the Saxon Switzerland National Park located near the city of Pirna.

The view of Festung Königstein from the Bastei Bridge

The Bastei has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years.   In 1824 a wooden bridge was constructed to link several rocks for the visitors. This bridge was replaced in 1851 by the present Bastei Bridge made of sandstone.

We then drove 1.5 hours to Freiberg to see the temple.  There was a lot of history regarding the building of this temple and we were excited to visit.  Built in what was then the German Democratic Republic, the Freiberg Germany Temple was the first LDS temple in a then communist state.  After the Bern Switzerland Temple was dedicated in 1955, Latter-day Saints throughout Europe visited it for the Endowment and other temple rites. After 1957, East German governmental restrictions on foreign travel prevented the country's Latter-day Saints—about 5,000 in 1970—from easily obtaining visas to travel to the temple.  Church members repeatedly applied for visas, were rejected, then applied again.  An attempt in the early 1970s by Henry Burkhardt, the de jure head of the church in East Germany, to present the government with a list of 300 church members interested in visiting the temple almost led to his arrest.

The LDS Church appointed Burkhardt as President of the Germany Dresden Mission in 1969 to comply with a new law requiring churches to be led by East Germans.  In the 1970s his role gave Burkhardt access to visas to travel to General Conference meetings in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Obtaining the visas required him to meet often with East German government officials, whom church leaders encouraged Burkhardt to build relationships with despite his reluctance.  In 1973 and/or 1978, H. Burke Peterson of the Presiding Bishopric suggested to Burkhardt that the church build an endowment house in East Germany as an alternative to a temple.

In 1978, the East German government unexpectedly suggested building an LDS temple within the country.  Doing so would reduce visa requests, and was part of a new government policy to cooperate with churches in hopes of obtaining hard currency through construction.  The church intended to locate the building in Karl-Marx-Stadt, a longtime center of Communist ideology, as its LDS congregation needed a new chapel.  In 1980 the local government rejected a new chapel within the city despite the national government's support, and instead assigned the building to Freiberg, about 20 miles away. 

Joe was dying over how much bigger the temple was.  We tried to go into the Visitor's Center but it was closed.  Later we found out (from Wikipedia) that the temple was expanded and re-dedicated and an angel Moroni was added.

 Although disappointed at first, Burkhardt and church leaders in Utah came to see the Freiberg location as superior.  By April 1981, city officials' welcoming of the project ahead of the forthcoming 800th anniversary of Freiberg's founding in 1986 encouraged the church to plan for a separate chapel and temple.   The government also permitted the church to acquire a 1-acre hillside site instead of the normal long-term lease.  The church announced the forthcoming Freiberg Temple in October 1982, and Thomas S. Monson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the groundbreaking on 23 April 1983.  The plans did not include an angel Moroni and no request to the government for one was made, although it would likely have permitted a statue if asked.

The government aided in speeding up paperwork and construction for the temple, in part to help commemorate the anniversary of Freiberg's founding.  The construction used triple glazing and other advanced methods unusual for East Germany, and despite restrictions on imported materials, architects were able to obtain three high-quality Czech crystal chandeliers for the Celestial and sealing rooms at the Leipzig Trade Fair.   Because the church was unsure of how long the temple's sacredness would remain intact, however, the bulk of the temple's materials were of "average" or "mediocre" quality, and steps were not taken to ease future expansion.   Unlike the contemporaneous Stockholm, Sweden, and Frankfurt temples, the Freiberg temple did not include an air conditioning system despite its availability in East Germany, causing hundreds to faint during temple rites.

This is a hostel (hotel rooms) for visitors that travel a very long way to visit the temple. 

The temple was open to the public for tours June 3-15, 1985.  Those who attended the tours of the 7,840-square-foot temple were able to see the exterior and its German-influenced design with gothic style arches, as well as the interior with its one ordinance room and two sealing rooms. About 90,000 people waited up to seven hours to tour the temple during the open house, despite 21 Stasi agents monitoring and photographing all visitors.  The temple was dedicated in seven sessions on June 29-30, 1985, by Gordon B. Hinckley of the First Presidency, and Burkhardt became its first president.

During its existence the German Democratic Republic spied on every LDS congregation's meetings, and Burkhardt had at least three Stasi agents monitoring him at all times.   Hinckley expressed the fear during the dedication that the temple might soon become a museum, and during its first few weeks of operation church members who had not visited a temple before received priority in appointments.

As East Germany sought in the 1980s to improve its image abroad, however, the Latter-day Saints' alleged ties to the United States government and other Western powers worked in the church's favor. The Stasi's close monitoring of East German members over the years gave the church credibility, as the government came to see Latter-day Saints as citizens of good character who, in keeping with the 12th Article of Faith, did not conspire against the nation. Accordingly, it agreed that no one without a recommend would enter the temple after the dedication, and fears of bugging proved groundless.

The temple received badly needed air conditioning in 1994.   Renovations began in 2001 which nearly doubled the square footage to 14,125 square feet and added 12 oxen to support the baptismal font, a waiting room for those not able to enter the temple, a matron and brides room, as well as an office for the temple president.  On December 20, 2001 an angel Moroni statue was placed on top of the temple. A second open house was held August 17-31, 2002.  After renovations, Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated the temple on September 7, 2002.

^{We continued on our journey to Seiffen where we would spent the night at Bennelliebschanke.  It was a quaint Bed and Breakfast.  We ate a late dinner there and then ran through the town after hours to "preview" our shopping for the next day.  I was very excited to buy some souvenirs in this famous town.  I can't wait until morning!}