Always the most important Catholic church of the city, it was elevated to the status of cathedral of the Diocese of Dresden–Meissen in 1964.

The Catholic Elector built the cathedral for his own use and for the use of other high-ranking officials, connecting it to his home, Dresden Castle, with an ornate high level walkway.

[1] Since 1743 the Deans (Hofprediger) of the Court Church were ex officio also Apostolic Vicars of the Saxon hereditary lands.

In the crypts the heart of King Augustus the Strong is buried along with the last King of Saxony and the remains of 49 other members of the Wettin family, as well as the remains of people who married into the family, such as Princess Maria Carolina of Savoy, wife of Anthony of Saxony.

The oldest of four crypts, the Founders' Crypt, holds the tombs of King Augustus III of Poland, one of very few Polish Kings to be buried outside the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, and last Queen of Poland Maria Josepha.