So after wrapping up my evening on the web last night, I spent some time planning out Saturday. One of the great parts of Cologne is its many Catholic churches. They are simply everywhere. You need not travel more than a block or two to find a church within the inner city. The age of the city tells the tale. One must consider that this is one of the oldest cities in Germany. It was established by the Romans not long after the death of Christ (in the first century) and has stood since… through wars, world events, and other thoroughfares. Most of these churches were built between 800 AD and 1100 AD. Some date far back, but have been rebuilt and remodeled several times. Most churches in Cologne see a number of overlapping architectural styles because of this. My mission was to visit all twelve of the Romanesque Churches of Cologne. These are well known churches and most remain standing because of their connection to this very old group of churches. Congregations at each are very small. In most cases, they were built for a monastery or cloister. Many saw reconstruction later in their existence with Gothic tones overlaying the Romanesque ones. In the 1800s, many also changed from religious community churches to parish churches during the secularization of the Church. The beauty and elegance of these churches are hard to explain in words. They are simply gorgeous. Unfortunately, most did not endure the Second World War. During air-raids of the war, most of Cologne’s structures were destroyed, churches and all. It wasn’t until the mid twentieth century that they were rebuilt. It was an architect by the name of Karl Band who helped reconstruct most of these churches. You can see below where old church remains meet new stone and concrete during reconstruction.
I began my tour in the morning at around 7:30am. I first visited St. Kunibert and St. Ursula. Since it was so early, I did not gain passage into the churches, but I did get some pictures of the outside. I then walked to St. Andreas for mass at 9:00am. This was my first “Messe” or “Gottesdienste” in Germany. These words simply translate to “mass” and “god-service”. The webpage had told me that the service was in the crypt (where St. Albert now rests), but five minutes before nine, the priest came down to inform me we were actually having mass “nach oben” (upstairs). Apparently, I had stumbled upon a couple’s 30th year anniversary and they were celebrating with a renewal of marriage vows. The organ music was thunderous (as I later found out most church organs here are!) and the church was relatively full. Every time I attend mass in another country, I get a strong sense of why the Catholic church is, in fact, so universal. I don’t need to completely understand the language to know what my heart is saying during mass. It was slightly funny to see the family of the couple figure out the ritual. Most were not Catholics, so since they were in the front (regulars were in the back) they usually missed cues or were delayed in the sit-stand-kneel nature of the prayers. The priest simply smiled. The main point was the joyous nature of the couple’s renewal of vows. I was actually trying to figure things out as the mass proceeded as well. Responses such as “Gott sei dank” (thanks be to God) will eventually become second nature, but for now, I will do my best. The gentleman next to me was tall and in his late twenties or early thirties. He must have noticed I was silent for most of the mass, but during the exchange of peace I received a big smile when I responded to his German sign of peace with an English, “peace be with you.” Most Germans know English, so I’m sure it became clear to him there.
After mass was over, the gentleman walked over and asked if I spoke German. I responded in German and we proceeded to have a good conversation. He was surprised to see me there, which wouldn’t be so much of a surprise in Cologne. The interesting part of such a City steeped in Roman Catholic tradition is that not more than 30% of its population is Catholic. Most of that percentage is older in age. Germany, despite its large number of Catholic traditions, holidays, and churches, remains largely a secular community. My impression is that during the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, many of the darker spots in the Churches history touched those practicing the faith and turned them away, especially as younger generations began to enter the scene. I am no theologian or historian, so more research is to be done there on my part. In any case, this small interaction made my day. We introduced ourselves to each other and discussed our business in Cologne. He works at the Dom and faith is especially important to him. I described by intentions of working for BMW and staying in Munich. It was certainly a blessed way to begin the day!
After leaving the church I made a trip to St. Gereon, St. Aposteln, and St. Cecilia. I was able to enter the first two as they were still active/practicing churches in the area. The first parts of St. Gereon were constructed in the 4th century! In 839, it was first mentioned as a collegiate college. St. Aposteln was consecrated in the 10th century in honor of the twelve apostles. Unfortunately, due to extensive war damage, St. Cecilia was never fully rebuilt. It was rebuilt in some regards as it transformed into the Museum Schnütgen. Thanks to my international student ID (which cost me $20 back in November), I gained entrance to this gem for 3 Euros. I was unable to take pictures while inside (my hands were quickly slapped for my first attempt), but the artifacts were INCREDIBLE. Guards/curators were everywhere, and for good reason. Statues, garments, candle holders, staffs, pictures, sculptures, relics, and ivory book covers lined the walls of the once active church. I saw wooden statues of Mary from the 13th century. I was able to see the intricate beauty of a monstrance from 1100 AD. The alter candle stands from a church in 500 AD were there. All of these artifacts were collected and placed in the old church for display. Seeing an exhibit such as this only reminds me the strength of the Church Christ founded so long ago.
From St. Cecilia, I found St. Pantaleon, St. Severin, and St. Georg churches. I was fortunate enough to catch an organist practicing in St. Pantaleon during my visit there, but not so fortunate when visiting St. Severin. It appears, from the amount of construction in Cologne, that many things are still in a state of repair or restoration. St. Severin’s main tower was draped with a giant tarp when I arrived. Some sort of celebration was taking place in the square, but I couldn’t make out what it was for. Needless to say, I was unable to enter, but glad to see it nonetheless. St. Georg was a few blocks down and had a more contemporary style. Once could clearly see the transition from modern to old architecture.
The last three on the trip were St. Maria Lyskirchen, St. Maria im Kapitol, and Gross St. Martin. St. Maria Lyskirchen was a beautiful little church just off the Rhine founded in the 9th century. It was the first to have no pews. I was confused on my approach to St. Maria im Kapitol. I actually found St. Martin Klein instead. I have no pictures of the second St. Maria, but did get to see its exterior (as I found out later). The final church was Gross St. Martin. This was perhaps the largest of the churches and it rests just off the Rhine east of the Dom (Cathedral). It was almost completely destroyed in the war, but was rebuilt. The really interesting part was seeing the history of its foundation. Back when the Romans were in Cologne, the sight of St. Martin’s foundation was actually a Roman sports training center. Later, it became a warehouse in the last centuries of the Roman Empire. Due to flooding and such, debris covered the foundation to these places and in the middle ages, St. Martin was built. It wasn’t until this past century that it was discovered that the churches foundation lines up almost perfectly with that of the swimming pool room of the old Roman sports center. An archeological dig underground bore proof of the foundations existence.
St. Maria Lyskirchen
I’m not quite sure how many miles I walked today aimlessly with my map and camera (iPhone!) out constantly. I probably looked like the biggest tourist around. Two Germans asked if I needed help during the day! One was an older gentleman with this wife. It looked like they were out for a casual walk. He was very kind and complimentary of my German, which I can’t seem to lock down when I actually encounter a German. I later ran into another German lady who asked if I knew my way. I think the accent was strong because she asked if I spoke English. She spoke English as well, so she went on about how German is a hard language. She was actually from California and spoke Spanish (in addition to English and German). She had family in both Mexico and Germany, but was in Germany for work. What a small world we do live in! We had a great conversation before parting ways.
Altogether, the day was blessed and exciting. I returned to my room at about 3:00pm and ate a quick sandwich before setting to the computer. I’ll be killing some time this afternoon until most of our group returns from Düsseldorf where they spent the day. I’ll be heading that direction on Monday as we have a cultural activity with GIZ, so I wasn’t too heartbroken at not spending the extra train money.
Oh, and it was finally cloudy today! Ha!
I hope you enjoyed that small walk through history. Until next time…
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