Casket number 39 was unidentified and thought to be empty. During restorations works in the crypt the casket was opened, and surprisingly bones were found. Could they belong to Prussian Queen Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern? She was buried in the crypt 220 years ago in a simple wooden coffin with silver handles. The Second World War changed everything. The cathedral was badly hit by a bomb in 1944, and burning parts crashed down onto the crypt, turning the entire cathedral into ruins in a single night. Elisabeth Christine’s coffin was thought to be completely destroyed.
The Second World War changed everything. The cathedral was badly hit by a bomb in 1944, and burning parts crashed down onto the crypt, turning the entire cathedral into ruins in a single night. Elisabeth Christine’s coffin was thought to be completely destroyed. This unidentified coffin will need to be examed completely.
The Cathedral (Berliner Dom) has around 700,000 visitors a year and the royal crypt underneath contains 94 coffins. Last year the Bundestag approved renovations for almost 9 million euros, though this only half the money that will be needed.
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