Sebald may be a bit more somber, but to me its architectural impact is greater. When I went in the other day, in the early evening, I was deeply moved by the spirit of the place, its grace and majesty. There are many photos around the church taken after the bombing. This building stood here for seven centuries and in one night it was reduced to a pile of smouldering rubble. There was hardly anything left of it. But after ten years of painstaking work the church was re-dedicated. You wouldn't even notice anything had been amiss, that is how masterfully the rebuilding was accomplished. When you think of the destruction of a magnificent monument like this one, you could weep. Our cultural treasures proclaim who we are. This is what, as a human race, we have done, this is our best, the product of our genius, of our aspirations, of our higher nature. To see so much of it destroyed is a loss to everyone. War sucks. I think the Germans have sincerely dealt with their history and have realized the consequences of aggression. If another destructive war arises, it will not be from German soil.
The ceiling seems to float above the clerestory windows. My little camera did a good job on the interior shot. BTW, Johann Pachelbel (that's right, he of 'canon' fame) was organist in this church from 1695 to 1706. (Sometimes I can't remember my own telephone number but somehow I remembered that useless fact.)
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