![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/St._Georg_K%C3%B6ln%2C_Nordseite-0579.jpg)
St. Georg's Church is one of twelve
Romanesque churches in the city of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, Germany.
History
![Koeln stgeorg ostchor pestkreuz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Koeln_stgeorg_ostchor_pestkreuz.jpg)
The date of the foundation of St Georg's is unknown, but it was consecrated towards the end of the 11th century.
Schmap Cologne Guide
'', (accessed 16-08-20120 The nave was vaulted in the mid-12th century, the
westwerk
A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior ...
was added in 1188 and the entrance portal on the north side in 1551.
[ The church was damaged during ]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 opposin ...
, resulting in extensive restoration[ which included the removal of the Baroque extension to the westwerk and replacement with a simple hip roof in the Romanesque style.][
]
Architecture
St Georg's has the trefoil-shaped eastern end typical of other Romanesque churches of Cologne, its chancel and transepts each terminating in an apse. The nave is unique in Cologne in having its arcade supported on columns rather than piers.[
There is a robust westwerk with walls of 5 metres thick, suggesting that it was intended to be much taller than actually built.]
St George's
', (accessed 16-08-2012) The original Romanesque roof of the westwerk was replaced with a Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
belfry, but this was damaged during World War II and later replaced with a steeply pitched hip roof of copper.
St. George's, Cologne
', (accessed 16-08-2012) During the late 1920s the church had been entirely glazed by the Expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
artist, Johan Thorn Prikker
Johan Thorn Prikker (6 June 1868, The Hague - 5 March 1932, Cologne) was a Dutch artist who worked in Germany after 1904. His activities were very eclectic, including architecture, lithography, furniture, stained-glass windows, mosaics, tapestries ...
. These windows were lost during the war, but have been reproduced from the original cartoons.[
]
See also
* 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.
Churches
The twelve churches are1:
* St. Andreas in Altstadt-Nord, est. 974
* St. Ap ...
* Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of ...
* German architecture
The architecture of Germany has a long, rich and diverse history. Every major European style from Roman to Postmodern is represented, including renowned examples of Carolingian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Modern and ...
* Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...
* List of regional characteristics of Romanesque churches
Romanesque is the architecture of Europe which emerged in the late 10th century and evolved into Gothic architecture during the 12th century. The Romanesque style in England is more traditionally referred to as Norman architecture.
The style ca ...
* Romanesque secular and domestic architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. The term "Romanesque" is usually used for the period from the 10th to the 12th century with "Pre-Romanesque" and "First Romanesque" bein ...
References
Literature
* Hiltrud Kier: ''Via Sacra zu Fuß, Kölns Städtebau und die Romanischen Kirchen''. Bachem Verlag, Köln 2003 (²/2005) .
* Ulrich Krings, Otmar Schwab: ''Köln: Die Romanischen Kirchen – Zerstörung und Wiederherstellung''. Reihe Stadtspuren Bd. 2, Köln, Bachem Verlag, 2007 (712 S. mit CD Chronologie des Wiederaufbaus).
* 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 (= Colonia Romanica, Jahrbuch des Fördervereins Romanische Kirchen Köln e. V. Bd. 22, 2007 und 23, 2008)
External links
Förderverein Romanische Kirchen Köln e.V.
{{Twelve Romanesque Churches of Cologne
Tourist attractions in Cologne
Innenstadt, Cologne
*
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...