A 1914 Iron Cross Second Class from Dresden

[Brian R]

Here is my favorite 1914 EK2. I've had it for about 15 years as it came from an online seller in Dresden - he was selling a lot of Saxon material at the time. I have always been intrigued by it because of the address of the jeweler; in the vicinity of the Frauenkirche of Dresden. The Kingdom of Saxony has always been of interest to me and I have actually been to Dresden, so the context of the cross and where it comes from are that much more exciting.

The cross itself is marked KO so it's not a cross made in Saxony, but it makes perfect sense that a jeweler would have a supply of crosses he purchased from a larger distributor. The case, however, has the name of the jeweler; Arno Morgeneyer. He was an Uhrmachermeister (watchmaker) and had a shop at Frauenkirche 19, right across the way from the actual church. According to information I found online, Morgeneyer was born February 23, 1869 and died November 23, 1923.

[Brian R]

the inside cover and a prewar image of the church and the surrounding area.

[Brian R]

I have a 1900 dated map of Dresden in my collection as well.

[Brian R]

Here is the building where the shop would have been located...

[Brian R]

1

[Brian R]

Of course, Dresden (particularly the old city) was devastated by the Allied bombing of February 13/14, 1945. The church is just to the right of this image - you can see the market square just in front of the church.

[Brian R]

The church collapsed two days after the bombing.

[Brian R]

It was rebuilt in the 1990s. It's amazing to visit Dresden today and to see how methodically the old city has been rebuilt. Apart from a few noticeable spots, you would never know it was destroyed at one point. Here is an aerial view of the address on google. You can see the rebuilt church from above.

[Brian R]

Ironically, there is a jeweler/watchmaker at Frauenkirche 20 today. You can see the church in the background on this picture from their website.

[Stepdale]

Brian,
Excellent cross and case and background to boot. My wife and I visited Dresden in the early 90s and were amazed at the devastation. I had a couple of stops there on the way to and from Iraq as well, but unfortunately, it was night and we were confined to the airport, so I didn't get to see how it looked after reconstruction.
Dale

[Don D.]

I drove thru there in 1989. I talked with an old Eastie and he was still complaining about the attack. Glad they rebuilt it because there was next to nothing there when I went thru.

[WaltherW]

...can you please post a pic of the inlet without the ribbon and the cross ?

Thx

Walther

[Brian R]

here's an interior picture. It's pretty worn and seems consistent with the overall wear of the case.

[tompress]

Thank you, Brain, great work

I am often visiting Dresden - it is only 250 km from my city, and on the way from Poland to other German or West European destinations.

regards
Tomasz

PS. There were a few order & decorations manufacturers in Saxony, like Scharffenberg, Glaser & Roesder in Dresden and Schneider in Leipzig. But possibly only Schneider has produced Iron Crosses (mark "S") Or may be Roenser, too? (R)

[WaltherW]

here's an interior picture. It's pretty worn and seems consistent with the overall wear of the case.

Thx