St. Georg's Church

Cologne, Germany

St. Georg's Church is one of twelve Romanesque churches in the city of Cologne. The date of the foundation of St Georg's is unknown, but it was consecrated towards the end of the 11th century. The nave was vaulted in the mid-12th century, the westwerk was added in 1188 and the entrance portal on the north side in 1551. The church was damaged during World War II, 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.

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. The original Romanesque roof of the westwerk was replaced with a Baroque belfry, but this was damaged during World War II and later replaced with a steeply pitched hip roof of copper. During the late 1920s the church had been entirely glazed by the Expressionist artist, Johan Thorn Prikker. These windows were lost during the war, but have been reproduced from the original cartoons.

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Details

Founded: 11th century
Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Salian Dynasty (Germany)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Roberto Santana (16 months ago)
Small but worth the quick look if you get close to it, though do not go if it is far from your way
Teddy Kasteel (2 years ago)
Beautiful picturesque church, located in a nice part of the city of Cologne.
Bibi Bibubobo (5 years ago)
St. Georg is one of the twelve major Romanesque basilicas in the Old Town of Cologne. The construction of the former collegiate church began in 1059. St. George stands on the site of a Roman charitable guard station just outside the Roman walls, from where traffic was monitored between Bonn and the southern gate of the colony. Presumably at the time of the Merovingians (5th to 8th century), the Caesarius Oratory was built on a part of the foundations.
William L (5 years ago)
Cool
Inge Klein (5 years ago)
Wunderschöne Kirche
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