The present Hofkapelle (Catholic cathedral) was completed in 1755. Where was the original Catholic Court Church in which Zelenka worked?

A. The building (from the 1660s) was originally a theatre joined on to the court buildings and was converted to a church in 1707-1709. The church is well portrayed, although only partially, in Bellotto's picture of the Zwinger (see opposite; click here to view a wider detail of the painting and compare it with photograph of the Zwinger below). Interestingly, the direction of the seating was reversed (to face east) after the conversion so that the wider west- (originally, stage-) end became the main entrance. The organ gallery with its large end-window (which can be seen opposite) was located above the entrance hall at the west end, and accommodated most of the orchestra. The music thus came from the back of the church, not the front. The building was re-converted in 1755 when the new cathedral was finished, was given a Classicistic faade in 1802 and was demolished in 1888-1889 to make way for the tramway which still runs past the court buildings. The Catholic Court Church building was ... more