The awarding of the 6th Dresden Peace Prize will take place on the 14th
February at 11:00 hrs in Dresden’s Semper Opera.
This building has a very special story that began with its construction according
to the design of the famous architect Gottfried Semper. The Royal Court Theatre
as it was then called, opened in 1878, only to be devastated a mere 67 years
later by the bombing of Dresden in 1945. After the end of WW II, the difficult question
of when and how it was to be restored faced the GDR regime and was resolved, surprisingly
and thankfully, in the favour of rebuilding it according to the spirit of the
original design by Semper. And his name was adopted for the renamed Opera House
which was reopened on the 13th February 1985, exactly 40 years after its
destruction.
To commemorate the destruction of Dresden an award ceremony is held annually in the
Semper Opera. This time the honour will go to no other than His Royal Highness, The Duke of Kent
for his invaluable and decade long efforts towards the reconciliation between Great
Britain and Germany.
Since 1994 The Duke of Kent has been a patron of the British Dresden
Trust, which amongst other things presented Dresden with the gold cross steeple
that sits atop the ‘Frauenkirche’or the Church of Our Lady. The gift of this
pinnacle cross and orb by The Duke of Kent, patron of the Trust and it’s president
Dr. Alan Russel, on 13. February 2000, the 55 Anniversary of the destruction of
Dresden, marked a significant moment in the reconciliation process between the
two countries. The pinnacle cross is a symbol of suffering and forgiveness.
The eulogy will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf. The British pop
band, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), will perform live at the
ceremony and naturally on stage in the Semper Opera.
Tickets can be bought for 10 € and for 5€ for students at Visitor Centre
of the Semper Opera, in the Schinkelwache, Theaterplatz 2.
Contributed by Heike (trans. by Seema)
