Twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne


The twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne are twelve landmark churches in the Old town (Altstadt) of Cologne, Germany. All twelve churches are Catholic.
The reason for the large number of churches was that in the Middle Ages Cologne was, along with Paris, the largest and most important city north of the Alps, and both were already important centers in Roman antiquity. Christianity also has a long tradition in both cities; the first bishop of Paris was the missionary Dionysius of Paris, the first bishop of Cologne was Maternus of Cologne, a close confidant of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.
The origins of some of these churches therefore go back as far as Roman times, for example St. Gereon, which was originally a huge mausoleum in a Roman graveyard, or St. Maria im Kapitol, built on the substructure of a Roman temple. Great St. Martin Church stands on the site of Roman warehouses and previously a sports field with a swimming pool, the walls of which can be seen in the basement of the church. The graves of two important women can be viewed in the churches: of Plectrude, the founder of the church St. Maria im Kapitol, and, in St. Pantaleon, of Empress Theophanu, a Byzantine princess who ruled the Holy Roman Empire forcefully and capably as dowager empress for her minor son. A 13th Romanesque church, St. Maria ad Gradus, which can be seen on a plan from 1571 and in later pictures, had already been demolished in 1817; she stood directly in front of the Cathedral choir.
With the exception of St. Maria Lyskirchen all of these churches were more or less severely damaged by the bombing of Cologne during the Second World War. Reconstruction was only finished in the 1990s. Some of the churches survived the bombings with considerable damage to their structural integrity, but without too much actual destruction, such as St. Gereon's, which also contains significant ancient Roman masonry.

Churches

The twelve churches are1:St. Andreas in Altstadt-Nord, est. 974St. Aposteln in Altstadt-Nord, est. 9th centurySt. Cecilia's in Altstadt-Süd, est. 9th centurySt. Georg in Altstadt-Süd, est. 11th centurySt. Gereon in Altstadt-Nord, est. before 612St. Kunibert in Altstadt-Nord, est. 1247St. Maria im Kapitol in Altstadt-Süd, est. 690St. Maria Lyskirchen in Altstadt-Süd, est. 948Great St. Martin in Altstadt-Nord, est. 10th centurySt. Pantaleon in Altstadt-Süd, est. controversialSt. Severin in Altstadt-Süd, est. 4th century andSt. Ursula in Altstadt-Nord, est. early 5th century
1''sorted alphabetically''

Other churches

Also sponsored by the Förderverein Romanische Kirchen Köln e.V. are twelve Romanesque churches outside of the Old Town, as well as St. Peter's Church, Cologne:
  • Alt St. Heribert in Deutz
  • St. Nikolaus in Dünnwald
  • St. Martinus in Esch
  • St. Stephan in Lindenthal
  • St. Severin in Lövenich
  • St. Brictius in Merkenich
  • St. Michael in Niederzündorf
  • Alt St. Katharina in Niehl
  • St. Martin in Oberzündorf
  • St. Cornalius in Rath/Heumar
  • St. Amandus in Rheinkassel
  • Alt St. Maternus in Rodenkirchen
  • St. Nikolaus in Westhoven

Literature

  • Hiltrud Kier: Via Sacra zu Fuß, Kölns Städtebau und die Romanischen Kirchen. Bachem Verlag, Köln 2003 .
  • Ulrich Krings, Otmar Schwab: Köln: Die Romanischen Kirchen – Zerstörung und Wiederherstellung. Reihe Stadtspuren Bd. 2, Köln, Bachem Verlag, 2007.
  • Sybille Fraquelli: Zwölf Tore zum Himmel. Kinder entdecken: Die Romanischen Kirchen in Köln. J.P. Bachem Verlag, Köln 2007.
  • Hiltrud Kier und Ulrich Krings: Die Romanischen Kirchen in Köln, Köln, 3.Auflage 1986.
  • Sabine Czymmek: Die Kölner Romanischen Kirchen, Schatzkunst, Bd. 1, Köln 2008, Bd. 2, Köln 2009