Deutz Abbey ( or ''Abtei Deutz'') was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery located at Deutz, now part of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

as Köln-Deutz,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was founded in 1003 on the site of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

fort by the future Saint Heribert, Archbishop of Cologne, close adviser of

Emperor Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of G ...

. Heribert died in 1021 and was buried in the Romanesque church he had had built here. The

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Rupert of Deutz Rupert of Deutz ( la, Rupertus Tuitiensis; c. 1075/1080 – c. 1129) was an influential Benedictine theologian, exegete and writer on liturgical and musical topics. Life Rupert was most likely born in or around Liège in the years 1075-108 ...

was abbot during the 1120s. The abbey had extensive properties, but its strategic position by the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

exposed it to involvement in fighting, and it was destroyed in the 14th century and again in the 16th. It was dissolved during the

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of the

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislativ ...

, but the abbey church, now known as Alt St. Heribert, became a parish church in 1804. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was heavily damaged and only the ground floor and remnants of the Romanesque cellar were preserved. Reconstruction took place in the 1970s. Today the former abbey accommodates an old people's home run by Caritas. Notable are the mural paintings by the artist Werner Weber. The former abbey church of Alt St. Heribert is now used by the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

community of Cologne, and has been superseded as a Roman Catholic parish church by Neu St. Heribert, which now houses the shrine of Saint Heribert.

References

Bibliography

* Sinderhauf, Monica, 1996. ''Die Abtei Deutz und ihre innere Erneuerung. Klostergeschichte im Spiegel des verschollenen Codex Thioderici''. Vierow: Veröffentlichungen des Kölnischen Geschichtsvereins. {{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in Germany Monasteries in North Rhine-Westphalia 1000s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1003 establishments in Europe Religious organizations established in the 1000s Christian monasteries established in the 11th century History of Cologne Churches in Cologne Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Germany