St. Cecilia's Church (Cäcilienkirche, Colognian pronunciation:[tsɪnˈtsila]) is one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne’s old city, maintained by the Foundation of Romanesque Churches in Cologne. The present building, little changed since its inception, dates from 1130-60.[1] Since 1956, the church has been the home of the Schnütgen Museum for medieval art.[2]
Interior view of St. CäcilienFloorplan of St. Cäcilien
The floorplan of Saint Cecilia's is that of a simple, three-aisled church without towers or transepts. The southernmost aisle and the centre of the nave end in a rounded apse. The northern aisle ends in an apse used as a sacristy, built in 1479. In the upper choir of the middle aisle are frescoes, difficult to see clearly, that were damaged during world war two. The original, arched wooden roof in the middle aisle remains on the site. and the tympanum dates from 1160, which can be viewed as part of the museum’s collection. A copy of it can be seen from outside, at the north entrance.
Historyedit
The origin of the church building stems from the 9th century, during which a women’s home of the same name was founded at the site, during the reign of Archbishop Willibert in 870-888. It was built on the ruins of a prior Roman bath.[3] Previously, it was suggested that the first Cologne Cathedral stood at the site, but archaeological evidence has since ruled out this possibility. From documentation of the home in 965, it is known that Bruno the Great, archbishop of Cologne, designated 50 pounds of silver for the completion of the church building. The original was renovated in the 12th century to suit a romanesque style, and distinguishes itself from the other Romanesque churches in Cologne through its relatively modest size and decoration.
Through resources originally designated for another church, the interior of St Cecilia's was renovated during the late 15th century. The main entrance was also changed in the 19th century, and given a new entry in the Neo-Romantic style.[4] It remains on site, but is now walled up to suit the needs of the Schnütgen Museum.
For a time, the building was also adjacedent to the first hospital in Cologne, for which the church offered services as a chapel. The hospital is no longer present, as the Church now stands next to the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum.
Though it is currently used mainly as museum of medieval art, the church celebrates two masses each year, one at Christmas and the other on the feast day of St. Cecilia.
^Walter Geis: Westfassade St. Cäcilien. In: Förderverein Romanische Kirchen Köln e. V. (Hrsg.): Colonia Romanica. Nr. VIII, Köln 1993, ISSN 0930-8555, page 121.
^Museums of Cologne; official website 2009-12-27 at the Wayback Machine accessed January 11, 2010
cecilia, church, cologne, cecilia, church, cäcilienkirche, colognian, pronunciation, tsɪnˈtsila, twelve, romanesque, churches, cologne, city, maintained, foundation, romanesque, churches, cologne, present, building, little, changed, since, inception, dates, fr. St Cecilia s Church Cacilienkirche Colognian pronunciation tsɪnˈtsila is one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne s old city maintained by the Foundation of Romanesque Churches in Cologne The present building little changed since its inception dates from 1130 60 1 Since 1956 the church has been the home of the Schnutgen Museum for medieval art 2 St Cecilia s ChurchCacilienkircheReligionAffiliationRoman CatholicRegionCologneEcclesiastical or organizational statusParish churchStatusSchnutgen Museum occasionally active church LocationStateNorth Rhine WestphaliaArchitectureTypeChurchStyleRomanesque Contents 1 Building Description 2 History 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBuilding Description edit nbsp Interior view of St Cacilien nbsp Floorplan of St Cacilien The floorplan of Saint Cecilia s is that of a simple three aisled church without towers or transepts The southernmost aisle and the centre of the nave end in a rounded apse The northern aisle ends in an apse used as a sacristy built in 1479 In the upper choir of the middle aisle are frescoes difficult to see clearly that were damaged during world war two The original arched wooden roof in the middle aisle remains on the site and the tympanum dates from 1160 which can be viewed as part of the museum s collection A copy of it can be seen from outside at the north entrance History editThe origin of the church building stems from the 9th century during which a women s home of the same name was founded at the site during the reign of Archbishop Willibert in 870 888 It was built on the ruins of a prior Roman bath 3 Previously it was suggested that the first Cologne Cathedral stood at the site but archaeological evidence has since ruled out this possibility From documentation of the home in 965 it is known that Bruno the Great archbishop of Cologne designated 50 pounds of silver for the completion of the church building The original was renovated in the 12th century to suit a romanesque style and distinguishes itself from the other Romanesque churches in Cologne through its relatively modest size and decoration Through resources originally designated for another church the interior of St Cecilia s was renovated during the late 15th century The main entrance was also changed in the 19th century and given a new entry in the Neo Romantic style 4 It remains on site but is now walled up to suit the needs of the Schnutgen Museum For a time the building was also adjacedent to the first hospital in Cologne for which the church offered services as a chapel The hospital is no longer present as the Church now stands next to the Rautenstrauch Joest Museum Though it is currently used mainly as museum of medieval art the church celebrates two masses each year one at Christmas and the other on the feast day of St Cecilia See also editCologne Cathedral German architecture Romanesque architecture List of regional characteristics of Romanesque churches Romanesque secular and domestic architectureReferences edit Walter Geis Westfassade St Cacilien In Forderverein Romanische Kirchen Koln e V Hrsg Colonia Romanica Nr VIII Koln 1993 ISSN 0930 8555 page 121 Museums of Cologne official website Archived 2009 12 27 at the Wayback Machine accessed January 11 2010 Wietzorek Paul Das Historische Koln Michael Imhof Verlag 2006 Page 151 Wietzorek Paul Das Historische Koln Michael Imhof Verlag 2006 Page 153External links edit nbsp Media related to St Cacilien at Wikimedia Commons St Cacilien on Forderverein Romanische Kirchen Koln e V in German 50 56 6 N 06 57 5 E 50 93500 N 6 95139 E 50 93500 6 95139 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Cecilia 27s Church Cologne amp oldid 1044238475, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
