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Crypt of King Frederick William I Garrison Church in 1827 Church Ruin after the 1945 bombing

In 1732, Prussian King Frederick William I, also known as "The Soldier King" had a massive church built in Potsdam to be used by his elite soldiers, the Potsdam Giants. The church was as representative as the King's soldiers - the 290 ft. tall steeple dominated the town's skyline. for 150 years, the Garrison Church was one of Potsdam's most popular buildings and the final resting place of Prussian Kings Frederick William I and Frederick II. The great Johann Sebastian Bach performed here and the evenly great Napoléon Bonaparte paid his respect to Frederick the Great, visiting his Crypt when he conquered Potsdam in 1806.

XXXXXXXXXXXXThe Carillon

In 1736, a Carillon consisting of 40 bells was installed in the church's bell tower. In 1796, Queen Louise requested her two favorite hymns to be played from the bell tower and for the next 149 years, the Carillon played "Bless the Lord" at the top and "Always be Faithful and True" at the bottom of every hour.

Click the links above to listen to the hymns.

The Carillon became world famous and "Always be Faithful and True" became Prussia's unofficial national anthem.

In the night of April 14/15, 1945, Potsdam was target of a British air raid and firebombs hit the church. For about half an hour, the steeple was on fire while the Carillon kept playing Prussia's favorite song until it fell to the ground with all its bells ringing for a very last time.

Potsdam became part of the Soviet Zone and later part of East Germany and the church was never rebuilt. But in 1987, West-German soldiers of the Iserlohn Paratroopers Garrison raised the funds to rebuild the Carillon. After German reunification, the soldiers presented the rebuilt Carillon to the town of Potsdam. It now stands at the former location of the church, again playing Prussia's favorite tunes.
You can learn more about the church at Wikipedia and more about the Carillon at the Glockenspiel site.
Unfortunately, both sites are in German language only.