St. Kolumba was one of the largest parish churches in medieval

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, dating back to 980, and dedicated to Columba of Sens. The original Romanesque church was replaced by a Gothic church. Artworks in it included the Saint Columba Altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden, and an altar by an anonymous artist. It was almost completely destroyed by bombing in World War II. From 1947, a chapel was built on the ruins, dedicated to Mary as "Madonna of the Ruins". The chapel was called St. Kolumba from 2007, when it became part of the

Kolumba The Kolumba Museum (formerly the ''Diocesan Museum'') is an art museum in Cologne, Germany, run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne. It is located at the historic site of the former St. Kolumba church, destroyed during World War II, ...

, the museum of the archdiocese of Cologne.

History

A church of this name was mentioned first in 980. It was a small church in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

with one nave. It was first a dependent church of the ''Dom'', consecrated in 873, but became an independent parish. In the 12th century, the church was expanded to three naves. It was replaced by a hall church in Gothic style with five naves, keeping only the central nave and the tower. In the 17th century, the interior was decorated in Baroque style. The church was restored in the 19th century. The church featured notable artworks, such as the Saint Columba Altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden, a Bartholomäus-Altar by the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece, and the Master of the Wasservass Calvary. The church was close to the first

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

. Forty mayors of Cologne were buried next to the church.

Madonna in den Trümmern

The church was destroyed by bombing in 1943. Only some exterior walls, the basement of the tower, the entrance hall, and a Gothic statue of Mary survived. The life-size statue dates to 1460–70. In 1947, the architect

Gottfried Böhm Gottfried Böhm (; 23 January 1920 – 9 June 2021) was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne ...

was commissioned to build a chapel around these remnants. He designed an octagonal tent-like structure. After building from 1949, it was consecrated on 7 December 1950. It features stained-glass windows by Ludwig Gies, added in 1954 and depicting angels. Böhm created a marble altar, and added a sacrament chapel in 1957. The chapel was seen as a memorial of the war, called Madonna in den Trümmern ("Madonna of the Ruins"). Ruins of former churches, from medieval to Gothic, were excavated on the site in the 1970s. The Swiss architect

Peter Zumthor Peter Zumthor (; born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm and not being a prolific architect, he is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Pri ...

designed a new museum for the archdiocese which integrates the chapel, and the excavation sites. Building began in 2003, and the

was opened in 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolumba Churches in Cologne 12th-century churches in Germany Ruins of churches destroyed during World War II

History

Madonna in den Trümmern

Further reading

References

External links