Frankfurt, Germany

While in Poland I thought to ask my friend, Christina, if she knew where the LDS Temple was and that I thought it was in Frankfurt.  Sure enough it was!  We got up one morning and headed that way.  The Temple is just sat right down in the middle of a beautiful little area.  It is a tight fit for such a majestic building but it's perfect, just perfect.  There is another temple in Freiberg, Germany and these temples were built on both sides of Germany.

"Announcement:  1 April 1981 

Groundbreaking and Site Dedication:  1 July 1985 by Gordon B. Hinckley

Public Open House:  29 July–8 August 1987 

Dedication:  28–30 August 1987 by Ezra Taft Benson

Site:  5.2 acres.

Exterior Finish:  Bethel white granite from northern Vermont; copper roof.

Ordinance Rooms:  Four ordinance rooms (stationary) and five sealing.

Total Floor Area:  24,170 square feet.

Temple Locale

Situated several miles north of Frankfurt in the historic city of Friedrichsdorf, the Frankfurt Germany Temple stands on elevated land near a major highway where drivers can glimpse its graceful detached spire. Ancillary buildings are on site including a patron housing facility for long-distance travelers. The immaculate grounds, open to the public, are beautified with colorful shrubs and flowers.

Temple Facts

The Frankfurt Germany Temple was the fifth temple built in Europe and the second built in the current boundaries of Germany, following the Freiberg Germany Temple (1985).

Construction of the Frankfurt Germany Temple met opposition during its early planning phases, but President Gordon B. Hinckley told local officials that they would not regret their decision to permit construction of the temple. It "will be a thing of beauty in this lovely area," he said. "It will be a source of pride to local residents, who will come to speak of it as 'our temple.'"

President Gordon B. Hinckley broke ground for the Frankfurt Germany Temple the day after he concluded the dedicatory services for the Freiberg Germany Temple. The next day, he dedicated the Stockholm Sweden Temple.

The Frankfurt Germany Temple and Freiberg Germany Temple originally belonged to separate nations: Frankfurt to the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and Freiberg to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), a socialist state created by the Soviet Union. The two nations reunited in 1990, three years after the dedication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple.

During its week-and-a-half open house period, the Frankfurt Germany Temple was toured by some 70,000 visitors.

As an apostle, Elder Ezra Taft Benson was called to minister in Europe in 1945, following the devastation of World War II, and again in 1963 to serve as president of the European Mission, headquartered in Frankfurt. In August 1987, it was his special treat to return to Frankfurt—now as president of the Church—to dedicate the Frankfurt Germany Temple.

The Frankfurt Germany Temple was dedicated in eleven sessions over three days with approximately 12,570 members attending, largely coming from the nations of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France."

After leaving the temple we drove into downtown Frankfurt and parked to walk around.

"Eschenheimer Turm (Eschenheim Tower) was a city gate part of the late-medieval fortifications of Frankfurt am Main and is a landmark of the city. The tower, which was erected at the beginning of the fifteenth century, is at once the oldest and most unaltered building in the largely reconstructed Frankfurter Neustadt (new town), now better known as the Frankfurt-Innenstadt (city center)."

We found a deli for lunch and I of course had another chocolate croissant, they're SO CHEAP and delicious.  

We then tried our best of find the American Kinderfeld (cemetery.)

"Between 1966 and 1986 the remains of about 150 American children, most but not all of them stillborn or newborn, were buried in the Hauptfriedhof (main cemetery) in Frankfurt, Germany. A white marble monument reads in English "American Children's Cemetery" and in German "Amerikanisches Kinderfeld". This cemetery was often called the Kinderfeld or Kinderfield by the Americans and Germans who jointly maintained it."

We never found it and it began to rain harder so we left.  I realized I loved the individuality of the headstones.  The font used, the details, and size were all so different and I loved it.  It felt more detailed than those in the states.  We found many women who had their husbands die MANY YEARS before them.  It was hard for me to think of living 40 years without Jake as it appeared some of them did by their headstones.

The drive home is always so pleasant.

The autobahn is efficient, no one clogging up the left lane.

The winding roads through farm land, small villages, and windmills is picturesque to say the least.

That night we had schnitzel for supper and German chocolates for dessert.

"A schnitzel (German pronunciation: [ˈʃnɪtsəl]) is a boneless meat, thinned with a meat tenderizer, coated with flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs, and then fried. A popular food in many countries, it is made from veal, chicken, beef, turkey, or pork."

The schnitzel reminded me of my mother's fried pork chops.

The chocolate is so creamy!

What a lovely day in Frankfurt!