This small and simple temple, soon to have its open house and dedication after considerable renovation, is historically quite significant: In a harbinger of freedoms to come, it was built and dedicated under Communist rule, back when Germany was divided. Much of the work behind this was done by Elder Thomas S. Monson, then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
One of my tasks, when I was in the mission office in Zürich for the first half of 1974, was to send Church materials to the faithful Saints beyond the Iron Curtain in the German Democratic Republic. (Switzerland was neutral, so it was a good address to send such things from.) At least once, I was told that leaders of the Church there had been summoned to some government office, where what I had sent was destroyed before their eyes.
So this temple was a very big deal.
Anyway, you can look at photographs of the renovated Freiberg Germany Temple here:
“German Mormon Temple Reopens for Public Tours”
Meanwhile, in more or less related news, the rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple has been postponed:
http://www.eastidahonews.com/2016/08/reopening-idaho-falls-temple-postponed/
Strikingly, one of the changes being made during the two-years of renovation work will be a 35% reduction in the number of seats in the ordinance rooms.
I don’t know why this is being done, and I don’t know the reason for the postponement (though I’ve heard suggestions), but I can easily imagine that one of the reasons for the reduction in seats is this:
When the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple was first dedicated seventy-one years ago, in 1945, it was the only temple in the region. The nearest one to the north was in Cardston, Alberta, Canada.
Today, there are temples in Boise, Idaho; Twin Falls, Idaho; Rexburg, Idaho; and Billings, Montana. Another temple will be dedicated in Star Valley, Wyoming, at the end of October, and yet another is well underway in Meridian, Idaho.
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