The Frauenkirche seemed to miraculously survive the heavy allied bombings and subsequent fires of February 13, 1945, but on the 15th, after the building's sandstone had started to cool down, the whole building collapsed. That same year the local church started a campaign to gather donations for a reconstruction of the Frauenkirche, but those efforts were halted soon after the end of the war. Forty-five years later, shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Dresden citizens started a new initiative aimed at reconstructing the city's most iconic building.The church of Saxony and the city of Dresden soon supported the initiative and in 1993 preparations for the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche finally started. That year all the rubble was sorted and put on shelves, so that as much of the original stones could be reused. Those stones - 3643 in total - can be easily identified on the now brand new looking church: they have a much darker tone than the new sandstones. Most of the funds for the reconstruction came from donations. The most symbolic is the new replica of the 4,7m high steeple cross, donated by a group of British donors.