St. Gereon's Basilica, Cologne
St. Gereon's Basilica (Basilika Sankt Gereon) is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany, dedicated to Saint Gereon, and designated a minor basilica on 25 June 1920. The first mention of a church at the site, dedicated to St. Gereon, appears in 612. However, the building of the current choir gallery, apse, and transepts occurred later, beginning under Archbishop in 1151 and ending in 1227.[1] It is one of twelve great churches in Cologne that were built in the Romanesque style.[2]
St. Gereon has a highly irregular plan, the nave being covered by a decagonal oval dome, 21.0 m long and 16.9 m wide, completed in 1227 on the remains of Roman walls, which are still visible.[3] It is the largest dome built in the West between the erection of the Hagia Sophia in the 6th century and the Duomo of Florence in the 15th century.[4]
Ernst Seifert built an organ there in 1898.[5] In the 20th century, the architect Andreas Dilthey worked on its interior.[6]
Archaeological excavation has revealed the presence of an earlier structure from the fourth century, possibly a that was converted into a church by the sixth century.[7] This original church was perhaps called the church of the Golden Saints (ad sanctos aureos) by Gregory of Tours.[8]
See also[]
- Twelve romanesque churches of Cologne
- List of Roman domes
- List of basilica churches in Germany
- Cloth of St Gereon, that hung in the choir area, the oldest surviving European tapestry
- History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
- Gereon
- Saint-Géréon, France
References[]
- ^ Wietzorek, Paul. Das historische Köln. Michael Imhof Verlag GmbH & Co KG, 2006, p. 162.
- ^ Sacred Destinations:, The Twelve Romanesque Churches of Cologne (accessed 2011-04-17)
- ^ St. Gereon, MyTravelGuide.com.
- ^ Irish Arts Review, Volumes 2–3, page 49, Eton Enterprises, 1985.
- ^ Karl-Heinz Göttert, Eckhard Isenberg, Orgeln in Köln: ein Rundgang zu 70 Instrumenten, J.P. Bachem, (1998)
- ^ Schäfke, Werner (1998). Köln: zwei Jahrtausende Geschichte, Kunst und Kultur am Rhein (in German). DuMont Reiseverlag. pp. 214–5. ISBN 978-3-7701-4368-9. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ Ristow, S. (2007). Frühes Christentum im Rheinland. Die Zeugnisse der archäeologischen und historischen Quellen an Rhein, Maas und Mosel. Cologne. pp. 116–122.
- ^ Gregory of Tours, Liber in gloria martyrum, 61.
External links[]
Media related to St. Gereon (Köln) at Wikimedia Commons
| hide | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| ||
Coordinates: 50°56′36″N 6°56′45″E / 50.94333°N 6.94583°E
Authority control  |
|---|
 | This article about a Roman Catholic church building in Germany is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
 | This article about a North Rhine-Westphalian building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 4th-century churches
- Churches completed in 1227
- 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany
- Innenstadt, Cologne
- Basilica churches in Germany
- Roman Catholic churches in Cologne
- Church buildings with domes
- Europe Roman Catholic church stubs
- German church stubs
- North Rhine-Westphalia building and structure stubs