The former Hofkirche is situated between the palace, the Zwinger and the Semperoper. It is unique in that, in Protestant Saxony, it is a large Catholic church – now the cathedral of the Diocese of Dresden/Meissen. This is because Augustus the Strong converted to Catholicism so that he could become King of Poland.




The interior of the church is brightly lit; of particular note is the memorial altar dedicated to the victims of the air raids, crafted from Meissen porcelain.











As part of a guided tour, you can also visit the royal crypt beneath the church (Augustus the Strong is not buried here; only his heart is). I didn’t do that this time, as I’m already familiar with the crypt from previous visits.