Cologne Cathedral is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 6 million people a year. At 157 m (515 ft), the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world.
Cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monastic churches like those of abbeys and priories, often have certain complex structural forms that are found less often in parish churches. They also tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of regional pride. Many are among the world's most renowned works of architecture. These include St Peter's Basilica, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cologne Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Antwerp Cathedral, Prague Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of San Vitale, St Mark's Basilica, Westminster Abbey, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Antoni Gaudí's incomplete Sagrada Família and the ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, now a mosque.
The Basilica church of St. Ursula is located in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is built upon the ancient ruins of a Roman cemetery, where the 11,000 virgins associated with the legend of Saint Ursula are said to have been buried. The church has an impressive reliquary created from the bones of the former occupants of the cemetery. It is one of the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne and was designated a Minor Basilica on 25 June 1920. While the nave and main tower are Romanesque, the choir has been rebuilt in the Gothic style.
Merovingian art is the art of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks, which lasted from the 5th century to the 8th century in present-day France, Benelux and a part of Germany. The advent of the Merovingian dynasty in Gaul in the 5th century led to important changes in the field of arts. Sculptural arts consisted of the ornamentation of sarcophagi, altars and ecclesiastical furniture. Gold work and the new medium of manuscript illumination integrated "barbarian" animal-style decoration, with Late Antique motifs, and other contributions from as far as Syria or Ireland to constitute Merovingian art.
Gereon of Cologne, who may have been a soldier, was martyred at Cologne by beheading, probably in the early 4th century.
The Great Saint Martin Church is a Romanesque Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. Its foundations rest on remnants of a Roman chapel, built on what was then an island in the Rhine. The church was later transformed into a Benedictine monastery. The current buildings, including a soaring crossing tower that is a landmark of Cologne's Old Town, were erected between 1150-1250. The architecture of its eastern end forms a triconch or trefoil plan, consisting of three apses around the crossing, similar to that at St. Maria im Kapitol. The church was badly damaged in World War II; restoration work was completed in 1985.
Bonn Minster is a Catholic church in Bonn. It is one of Germany's oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. At one point the church served as the de facto cathedral for the Archbishopric of Cologne, because it is the major church of what was then the Archbishop-Elector's residence. It is now a minor basilica. It served as the inspiration for the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, as Kaiser Wilhelm II had studied in Bonn.
The Church of Saint Pantaleon is an early Romanesque church in Cologne, Germany. The church dates back to the 10th century and is one of the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne. The former monastery church is consecrated to Saint Pantaleon and the Saints Cosmas and Damian and is the oldest church of the cult of Saint Pantaleon west of Byzantium. The Holy Roman Empress Theophanu and the archbishop Bruno the Great are buried in the church, which also contains shrines of saints Alban, the first Christian martyr of Britain, and Maurinus of Cologne. Pope Benedict XVI visited the church in 2005.
Innenstadt is the central borough of the City of Cologne in Germany.
The twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne are twelve landmark churches in the Old town (Altstadt) of Cologne, Germany. All twelve churches are Catholic.
St. Maria im Kapitol is an 11th-century Romanesque church located in the Kapitol-Viertel in the old town of Cologne, Germany. The name “im Kapitol“ refers to the Roman temple for the Capitoline Triad that was built on today’s site of the church in the first century. The Catholic church is based on the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, was dedicated to St. Mary and built between 1040 and 1065. It is one of twelve Romanesque churches built in Cologne during this period.
The Basilica of St. Severin is an early Romanesque basilica church located in the Südstadt of Cologne (Köln). The former collegiate church is dedicated to St. Severin of Cologne. It is one of the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne.
The Basilica of the Holy Apostles is a Romanesque church in Cologne (Köln), located near Innenstadt's busy Neumarkt (Köln). The former collegiate church is dedicated to the twelve Apostles. It is one of the twelve Romanesque churches built in Cologne in that period.
St. Cecilia's Church is one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne’s old city, maintained by the Foundation of Romanesque Churches in Cologne. The present building, little changed since its inception, dates from 1130-60. Since 1956, the church has been the home of the Schnütgen Museum for medieval art.
The Basilica of St. Cunibert also St. Kunibert is the last of Cologne's twelve Romanesque churches to be built. It was consecrated in 1247, one year before work on the Gothic Cologne Cathedral began. It was declared a minor basilica in 1998 by the then Pope John Paul II.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Cologne, Germany.
St. Georg's Church is one of twelve Romanesque churches in the city of Cologne, Germany.
St. Maria Lyskirchen is one of twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne, Germany.
The Förderverein Romanische Kirchen Köln e. V. is a German association which financially and conceptually supports the research, restoration and preservation of Romanesque churches in Cologne. It was founded in 1981 and also organises public relations, guided tours and lectures to improve public awareness of these churches. Günter Heidecke was one of its founders and also acted as its chairman until 2002.
