Saxony: Start of the maintenance week in the Frauenkirche Dresden

Dresden (dpa/sn) - New Year's cleaning in the church: The Dresden Frauenkirche has been closed to visitors since Monday due to the annual maintenance and cleaning work.

Saxony: Start of the maintenance week in the Frauenkirche Dresden

Dresden (dpa/sn) - New Year's cleaning in the church: The Dresden Frauenkirche has been closed to visitors since Monday due to the annual maintenance and cleaning work. As the Frauenkirche Foundation announced, carpenters, painters, restorers and technicians will be in charge of the church by Saturday: electrical systems will be serviced, wooden chairs will be refurbished and door and wall surfaces will be repaired. On the last two days, the church is to be thoroughly cleaned from the lantern to the lower church.

"Many of the tasks of the closing week are annual activities, especially when it comes to technical maintenance work, the care of the wooden chairs and the cleaning of floors and other surfaces," explains the chief architect of the foundation, Thomas Gottschlich. Around 1000 meters of cable are to be laid to set up a WLAN network. In addition, craftsmen set up scaffolding in the stair towers for later work on the window dormers.

According to the foundation, more than 40 craftsmen from various trades are involved. After the work is completed, the church should be open to regular visitors again from Sunday. The dome ascent is scheduled to reopen on Saturday. The foundation spends around 40,000 euros a year on the campaign. The Society for the Promotion of the Frauenkirche and private donations support its preservation.