instead assigned the building to Freiberg, about away. The choice of the small town instead of a larger city like Leipzig or Dresden surprised members. Although disappointed at first, Burkhardt and church leaders in Utah came to see the Freiberg location as superior. By April 1981, city officials' welcoming of the project ahead of the forthcoming 800th anniversary of Freiberg's founding in 1986 encouraged the church to plan for a separate chapel and temple. In 1982 the government also permitted the church to acquire a hillside site instead of the normal long-term lease. The church announced the forthcoming Freiberg Germany Temple in October 1982, and Thomas S. Monson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presided over the groundbreaking on 23 April 1983. The plans did not include an angel Moroni and no request to the government for one was made, although it would likely have permitted a statue if asked. Construction The government aided in speeding up paperwork and construction for the temple, in part to help commemorate the anniversary of Freiberg's founding; by contrast, although the Frankfurt Germany Temple was announced 1½ years before Freiberg, it was not finished until two years after Freiberg. The church also received approval to tap the new Trans-Siberian Pipeline, which passed near the temple, to heat the buildings with natural gas instead of brown coal, which would have required a large, dirty coal plant on the site. The construction used triple glazing and other advanced methods unusual for East Germany, and despite restrictions on imported materials, architects were able to obtain three high-quality Czech crystal chandeliers for the Celestial and sealing rooms at the Leipzig Trade Fair. Because the church was unsure of how long the temple's sacredness would remain intact, however, the bulk of the temple's materials were of "average" or "mediocre" quality, and steps were not taken to ease future expansion. Unlike the contemporaneous Stockholm and Frankfurt temples, for example, the Freiberg temple did not include an air conditioning system despite its availability in East Germany, causing hundreds to faint during temple rites. Dedication The temple was open to the public for tours June 3-15, 1985. Those who attended the tours of the temple were able to see the exterior and its German-influenced design with gothic style arches, as well as the interior with its one ordinance room and two sealing rooms. About 90,000 people waited up to seven hours