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Christi Auferstehung Church

Cologne, Germany
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The brick mixes with concrete

Christi Auferstehung is a Catholic church in the district of Lindenthal in Cologne. It was built between 1968-1970 by architect Gottfried Bohm and later consecrated in 1971. It is regarded as a typical example of sculptural buildings by the architect and there are similarities in the design with The Pilgrimage Church which was designed at the same time. The parish was founded in 1920 and during 1934-1936 a church was designed by the architect Franz Schneider from Dusseldorf. This original building was designed in traditional forms, it was to have two polygonal towers next to the nave and choir, but these were not implemented. Despite war damage after a bomb attack in 1944, the church was still used by the municipality up until 1967/1968 but eventually it had to be demolished due to static problems.

The location of the Chrisi Auferstehung church sits as a vanishing point at the end of a small canal, which extends east-west direction from the Aachener Weiher towards the city forest and is bordered by an avenue of old trees. The channel opens into a small square, lead by the wide stairs from the slightly elevated church.

Architecture

The plan for the new church designed by Bohm has an irregular polygonal shape. While the laterally projecting parish is made completely of reddish brick, which alternates in the actual church building from brick and concrete, which is a contrast continued through the interior. A slender spiral stair tower dominates the building on the northwest corner. Originally, the sloping concrete surfaces of the roof were uncovered, however due to weather conditions the material has had to be covered with lead on the inclined surfaces.

Inside, there is a cave-like atmosphere, the appearance is enhanced by the reddish brick walls. Because of the curving design there are few smooth walls, but many nested nooks in which a separate space is provided for each liturgical task. The dominant feature however is the ceiling construction: Heavy, wearing concrete columns branch out up to an often narrow vault, which reaches its maximum height above the altar.

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  1. Wikipedia (German)
aleeshacallahan, September 27th, 2019
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