The church was originally constructed between the years 1726 and 1743 and was designed by the Dresden city architect George Bähr.

這座教堂原本是在 1726 到 1743 年間建造，並且由德勒斯登市的建築師 George Bähr 所設計。

The church was built as a Lutheran Protestant church during the Prince Elector Frederick Augustus I's time.

在選帝侯腓特烈．奧古斯特一世在位的期間，這座教堂是以路德教派的風格所打造。

The fact that Frederick Augustus I, who was a catholic, did not hinder the construction of a new and large Lutheran church in one of his cities has surprised many historians.

令許多歷史學家感到驚奇的是，腓特烈．奧古斯特一世這位天主教徒，並沒有在他統治的城市內妨礙這座又新又大的路德式教堂的建造。

I guess you and me should both be grateful that this masterpiece was allowed to be built.

我想你我應該都很感激當年這個偉大的建築能被允許建造。

Today, the church is one of the more well-known churches in Germany.

時至今日，這座教堂已是德國頗富盛名的教堂之一。

The church has housed many famous people throughout the years.

多年來，許多名人都曾使用過這間教堂。

Johann Sebastian Bach, for example, gave a smaller concert after the organ had been installed.

舉例來說，當這間教堂安置了管風琴後，音樂家巴哈便曾在這裡舉辦一場小型音樂會。

The church architecture is very different compared to other major churches and cathedrals in Germany.

這座教堂的建築風格與德國其他主要的禮拜堂和天主教堂之間有很大的差異。

Instead of typical Gothic architecture with tall towers and spires, the baroque-styled Church of Our Lady is focused around its massive, 96 meter high dome, called "die Steinerne Glocke "or "the Stone Bell".

不同於帶有高樓和尖塔的典型哥德式建築，這間巴洛克風格的聖母教堂以其 96 公尺高的大型圓頂聞名，德文稱作「 die Steinerne Glocke」，也就是「石頭鐘樓」的意思。

The dome weighs a massive 12,000 tons and is made of sandstone.

教堂的圓頂重達 12000 英噸，並且是由砂岩所構成。

The church gave the city of Dresden a distinctive silhouette.

這間教堂賦予了德勒斯登一個獨特的風貌。

Even though it was attacked during the Thirty Years War, the church held its ground.

即使它在三十年戰爭時受過戰火摧殘，這座教堂仍屹立不搖。

And for more than 200 years, the bell-shaped dome stood over the skyline of old Dresden, dominating the city landscape.

200 多年來，它鐘狀的圓頂仍聳立在德勒斯登的天際上，主宰著城市的景色樣貌。

However, The Church of Our Lady that you are looking at today is sadly not the original church that once stood in that very same spot.

然而遺憾的是，大家今日所見的聖母教堂已經不是原本矗立於同一地點的那座了。

During the Second World War, on 13 February 1945, allied forces began the bombing of Dresden.

在二戰期間 1945 年的二月 13 號，同盟國開始轟炸德勒斯登。

The church withstood two days and nights of the attacks before surrendering to the bombs.

在他們投降於砲火轟炸以前，教堂於兩天內遭受了日以繼夜的攻擊。

The heat generated by the 650,000 incendiary bombs that were dropped over the city caused the dome to collapse at 10 a.m. on the 15th of February.

二月 15 號早上十點，65 萬顆投向城市的炸彈所產生的高溫使得圓頂坍塌下來。

The pillars glowed bright red and exploded, shattering the outer walls, causing nearly 6000 tons of stone to crash down and flatten the building.

柱子閃爍著鮮紅的光然後爆炸，不僅擊碎了教堂的外牆，同時造成將近 6000 噸重的石塊墜落下來，將整棟建築物夷為平地。

The building that had dominated the Dresden skyline had suddenly vanished.

這座原本主宰著德勒斯登天際線的建築物轉瞬間就消失了。

And not only the church, but more or less the whole old city centre of old Dresden was flattened during the air raid of February 1945.

不僅是教堂而已，德勒斯登原先的市中心區域差不多都在 1945 年二月的空襲期間被夷為平地。

The blackened stones would lie in wait in a pile in the center of the city for the next 45 years, as the Communists took control over what by now had become East Germany.

在共產黨控制著今日的東德地帶往後的 45 年間，這些焦黑的石頭堆一直被暗藏在市中心。

The new government lacked both the real will and the money to reconstruct the church, but rather left it the way it was,

新政府欠缺決心和金錢來重建這座教堂，反而想讓其保留原貌，

and had it serve as a memorial against the madness of war and as a symbol over the Allied forces aggression.

並將它保留下來當作反對戰爭愚昧的紀念館，同時也象徵同盟國當年的侵略行為。

Even though the government did not intend any reconstruction of the church,

即使政府沒有打算重建這座教堂，

the residents of Dresden took matters into their own hands and began, shortly after the end of the war, to salvage parts of the church, which potentially could be used in a future reconstruction.

德勒斯登的居民仍然插手處理這件事，並且在戰爭結束後不久便開始去撿拾教堂的殘骸，因為未來重建時這些東西可能會派上用場。

In 1985, Dresden finally decided that the time to reconstruct the church had come.

1985 年時，德勒斯登的人民認定重建教堂的時刻終於來臨了。

After the reunification of Germany, the process gained momentum as people started to get involved in the reconstruction of the once magnificent church.

在德國統一後，人們開始重建這座曾輝煌一時的教堂，投入重建工程的氣勢也隨之增高了。

As hundreds of architects, art historians and engineers sorted the thousands of salvaged stones, identifying and labeling each for reuse in the new structure, while others worked on raising money.

數百位建築師、美術史學者、以及工程師們將這些搶救下來數以千計的石塊做分類、鑑定、以及標示來重複作為新建築的材料，其他人則努力募資。

Using the original plans used by builder Georg Bähr in the 1720s, the work to reconstruct the church to its former glory finally began in January 1993.

利用建築師 Georg Bähr 在 1720 年代所繪的藍圖，重建教堂、使其恢復先前榮耀的計畫終於在 1993 年一月動工了。

In order to create a good replica of the original church,

為了維妙維肖地仿造原本的教堂，

the building team relied on everything from thousands of old photographs, memories of worshippers, and church officials crumbling old purchase orders, detailing the quality of the mortar or pigments of the paint.

建築團隊參考了數千張的老照片、信徒的回憶、教堂人員、以及原先損毀的建材購買清單，其中有詳細描述砂漿的品質或是塗料的色素成分。

The foundation stone of the church was laid one year later in 1994.

一年後，也就是在 1994 年時，教堂的基石被設立了。

Of all the millions of stones used in the reconstruction work,

在所有數百億個修復工程中所用的石塊裡，

more than 8,500 stones had been salvaged from the original church,

有超過 8500 塊石頭從原本的教堂被撿拾回來，

and around 3,800 could be reused in the reconstruction.

並且有大約 3800 個可以被重複利用到重建工程中。

If you take a closer look at the outside of the church, you will be able to see these stones.

如果你仔細觀察教堂外部的話，你將有辦法識別出這些石塊。

The older stones are much darker in color, due to fire damage and more than 200 years of weathering.

較舊的石塊顏色較深，這是由火災以及超過 200 年的風化作用所導致。

If you look at one of the side window sections on the north side of the church, you will see the largest implementation from the original church.

如果你去看教堂北面一隅的側邊窗戶，你會看到從原本教堂移來最大片的遺跡。

It will give you a good look at how much the weathering and fire changed the colors of the stones.

它會清楚向你展示風化作用和火災如何改變岩石的顏色。

The reconstruction of this famous landmark stood finished in 2005, one year earlier than originally planned.

重建這個著名地標的工程在 2005 年竣工，比原本計畫的時間提早了一年。

In total, the rebuilding the Church of Our Lady cost around €180 million, mostly raised by ordinary people from all over the world.

重建聖母院總共花了大約 1.8 億歐元，大多是向世界各地的普通人家募款而來的。

Today, the church, together with a bronze statue of the reformer Martin Luther - which actually survived the bombings, stands as glorious and as beautiful as ever.

時至今日，這座教堂與挺過砲火轟炸的宗教改革家— 馬丁路德的銅像，至今仍依舊輝煌壯麗。

Since its reopening, it has been visited by an estimate of seven million people, seeking to discover its beauty.

自從它重新開幕後，估計約有 7 百萬人前往參觀、一同來發掘它的美。

The church interior's pastel color, its angels and many grand balconies makes many people think the church looks more like a catholic church, or even a theatre, than a protestant church.

教堂內部的粉蠟筆色彩、天使像以及許多富麗堂皇的座位區，都讓許多人認為它比較像座天主教教堂、或甚至是一家劇院，而非新教教堂。

It clearly shows that this church is something more than just an ordinary church.

這間教堂清楚地展現了它與眾不同的地方。

The rebuilt Frauenkirche is a monument reminding people of its beautiful and troublesome past and stands as a symbol of hope and reconciliation.

重建後的聖母教堂已成了一座紀念館，警醒人們它美麗動人卻又令人耗費心神的過往，同時它也成為了希望與和諧的象徵。