Alt St. Alban

Alt St. Alban is the surviving ruin of a former parish church on Cologne's Quatermarkt and is among the oldest Romanesque church buildings in the city. The first documentary mention dates to 1172. Over the centuries the structure was altered several times before it was redesigned as a hall church in the 17th century. In World War II the church was heavily destroyed, with only the tower left standing. Since then it has merely been secured, not rebuilt. Today you can still make out the pillars, bays, and apses with their window openings, while the windows and roofs are missing.

After the church was deconsecrated in 1954, a memorial to the dead of the World Wars was set up in the ruins. Inside is a copy of the sculpture "Grieving Parents" (Trauerndes Elternpaar) by Ewald Mataré, executed by Joseph Beuys and Erwin Heerich. You can also see a memorial to prisoners of war. The ground floor of the tower houses the St. Brother Conrad Chapel, which is furnished with works by Peter Hecker and Will Thonett. A crescent moon Madonna from the first half of the 16th century is also kept here. The ruin is not open to the public, but you can see the memorials through the iron gates.