Busmannkapelle, Gothic chapel in Dresden, Germany

The Busmannkapelle was a side chapel added around 1400 to the south choir of the Sophienkirche in Dresden, founded by Lorenz Busmann and his wife as a family burial chapel. Destroyed with the church in February 1945, it was rebuilt from 2009 to 2020 as the DenkRaum Sophienkirche memorial. The memorial displays surviving stone fragments within a modern glass structure at the original site.

The Busmannkapelle was added around 1400 to the south choir of the Franciscan monastery church, later the Sophienkirche, as a family and burial chapel for the patrician Busmann family. Lorenz Busmann, four times mayor of Dresden, died between 1406 and early 1407; later family members were buried there until 1478. The chapel was destroyed in the February 1945 bombing; from 2009 a memorial was built on the original site, opened in October 2020 as DenkRaum Sophienkirche.

The chapel takes its name from the Busmann family, who funded it as a family and burial chapel around 1400. Lorenz Busmann, four times mayor of Dresden, and his wife were among its founders. The busts of the donors on corbels are the earliest surviving portraits of Dresden citizens.

The site is located near the Zwinger and is easily accessible with clear paths surrounding the space. Hours are regular, and visitors should look in to see current exhibitions and activities taking place at the memorial.

The sculpted busts of the founders, set on corbels, are the earliest surviving portraits of Dresden citizens. Lorenz Busmann, named in a 1362 charter, served four times as mayor (1392, 1400, 1403, 1406) in a city of barely 4,000 people.