St. Maria ad Gradus

St. Maria ad Gradus ( " Maria to the steps " ), is located the name of a historic Romanesque collegiate church with its own immunity district east of Cologne Cathedral, between the cathedral and the Rhine. Folk it was called St. Marie degrees. In it rested the remains of the Blessed Richeza, Queen of Poland and granddaughter of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophano, before they were in 1817 transferred to the Cologne Cathedral.

History

It was donated by Archbishop Hermann II and built on the site of the cathedral baptistery associated. In a deed of Archbishop Anno II of 1075 these claims to have built the pen according to plan and with means Hermanns. The building was probably around 1062, were transferred as relics of St. Agilolf in him, is completed. It was a zweichörige basilica with western and Ostquerschiff, which followed with a double colonnade open to the inside of the cathedral. The external dimensions of the church were about 55 m in length and 42 m in width. Construction must already be done under Hermann.

The church burned down in 1085, was rebuilt and later expanded gothic.

After the French occupation of the Rhineland in 1794, the abbeys and monasteries were dissolved and collegiate and monastic churches threatened demolition or, in some cases, a secular ( non-religious ) conversion. In order to save the churches then were taken over many of them from the parishes, the parish churches for their previous tasks. In the case of St. Maria ad Gradus such a takeover was not possible because they get too close to other churches (Great St. Martin Cathedral, St. Andrew ) was in the area and no further parish church was needed.

Therefore, the church was demolished after initial use as a storage room in 1817, 1827 were received by the removal of Cathedral Hill, the foundations lost. On the east choir of Cologne Cathedral is the only remainder of the church building with a pillar obtain capital of the porticoes, called Domsäule. A Gospel Book from the church is as handwriting ms 1a in the Diocesan Library of Cologne, the Richeza Gospels, which also belonged to the decoration of the church, as ms 544 in the state of Hesse - Darmstadt and University Library. A crucifix with minor characters from the workshop of Master Tilman was taken over in 1803 by parishioners of the former is dependent on the collegiate town Bliesheim. Original now in the local parish church St. Lambertus.

Pictures

East choir of Cologne Cathedral with cemetery and remains of St. Maria ad Gradus, recording from 2008

Domsäule, recording from 2008