Frauenkirchhof (Dresden)

The Frauenkirchhof was the oldest known Cemetery in Dresden. It had existed since the first building of the Frauenkirche, which is dated to the 10th or 11th century. Until the 16th century, the Frauenkirchhof was the main burial place for the inhabitants of Dresden, who often buried their dead in the cemetery for several generations due to large family graves. The richly decorated and painted Schwibbogengräber were of particular art-historical value. Due to new buildings at the Frauenkirche, the cemetery was initially reduced in size several times and finally secularized by 1727 despite protests from the population in the course of the construction of the Bährschen Frauenkirche. Epitaphs and gravestones have been preserved from the cemetery. Archaeological excavations since the 1980s have unearthed grave goods, including several funeral crowns.