Köln - Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Altarpiece at Minoritenkirche

Der Dom, Ja, aber es gibt anders

I have an irregular sleeping pattern last night - very odd.  So I wonder if I will be tired today.  I have breakfast and the English and the Canadians are still there.  We talk about income taxes.  My goal today is to see Kolumba, the Archepiscopal Museum at Köln.  Arthur raved about it when he went to see it a couple of years ago, so now I want to see it to.  I will approach it gradually.  The deskman at the hotels warns me about possible rain, so I go to the Hbf and buy an umbrella, and a large tote, and then start out in the direction of the Kolumba.

Door handle at Minoritenkirche

On the way, however, I stop in at Minoritenkirche.  It is a beautiful church, a product of rebuilding after the war in which modern elements are posed against older pieces that survived.  Here, again, there is wonderful metal work - the lectern, candle stands, gates at the confessionals, and door hardware are all remarkable.  The windows, however, are not to my taste.  There is a beautiful gilded altarpiece mounted where the high altar once stood.  A man has followed me as I entered.  He explains auf Deutsch, some of the themes and pieces.  I thought he was going to chide me for taking photographs, but rather he invites me into the chancel to take more!  It is a delight to freely move around the room to capture some of the delights.  I think he liked it that I honored the Sacrament, and signed myself with holy water upon entering.

Kolumbakirche is but a block away, but I come at it from the other side, and as I look at a surviving wall, I recognize the same stone pattern as at Düren and at Marienplatz.  As I walk around the remains of the church (which is surmounted by a huge modern buiilding) I notice that the church is actually still there.  There will be more surprises later.  The Kolumba doesn't open until 12:00, however, so I shall have to wait.  I walk down the street to kool my heels and glance at my watch - 10:00.  I stop at a Café to have a Macchiato and some apple cake.  When that is finished, I realize that I have some time to kill and set out toward the North.

This part of Köln is what I heard some English people complaining about - modern buildings with little character, lower grade retail, and very little in the way of public amenities.  True indeed, and lots of traffic as well.  There are surprises, however, just waiting for the patient.

In the distance I see a belfry with a glockenspiel inside - soon it chimes out as my attention is drawn to a portal that is standing in the midst of a sidewalk approaching the church with the belfry.  I appears that this is the only part of a Jugendstil house that stood on Apfelstaße before the war.  A plaque explains the house and its owners and the symbolism of the portals.  It is quite lovely, and I wonder what the house was like.

The church Notre Dame du Mont, is a Marian shrine.  A plain brick exterior hides an elaborate Baroque interior.  The wood, however, is not gilded or painted, but left natural.  One can only peer in, as the gates are kept locked.  So I shoot some photos through the grill of the gates, and then sit and meditate at a shrine of the Black Madonna that sits at the entrance to the church.  Lots of people come and go, lighting candles and muttering prayers.  A young woman and her little girl come and go as well.  There seems to be an active piety here.

Notre Dame du Mont

I continue further north, and notice a building that piques my interest.  It turns out to be El De Haus, a former jewelry business that was rented by the Gestapo and turned into a Nazi Documentation Center.  The "El De" stands for the initials of the jeweler who built the building.

Inside there is a great deal of documentation, original propaganda posters, pamphlets, kinoscopes, personal letters, etc.  It is moving and disturbing all at the same time, doing what the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe does, but with less technology and a much broader mandate.  Downstairs there are cells where detained types were held: conscientious objectors, Roma, Jews, homosexuals, communists and others.  The graffiti of the cells attests to the human presence there, and the under basement is evidence of the executions that took place there.  

It is not crowded, but neither is it quiet.  Those who are there are dealing with a past that may have alluded them.

Sacramenthaus at St. Kolumbakirche

Kolumbakirche is a marvel.  It "floats" in the midst of the ruins of its former self, revealing four or five other churches that have stood on this sight.  The chapel is small, with a circular chancel where the altar is surrounded by stained glass angels.  At the western end is an elegant and modern window depicting St. Catherine.  Next to this chapel is a sacramental area with an old baptismal font, and an exquisite modern tabernacle, all gold and jewels.  I pause there for a moment to take it all in.  Behind the Sacramenthaus and incised into the wall are the Stations of the Cross.

I take some photographs and then steal away to the museum.  Unfortunately I locked up my camera with my tote at the insistence of the museum sentry (although others were taking photos).  Perhaps it was a good thing - I just looked and took it all in, from the walkway over the ruins, to the juxtaposition of ancient reliquaries, vessels, and processional crosses to Jena teapots, Stella steel, and the art of school children.  Marvelous!

Sanktmaria Himmelfahrt

It's time for lunch, and my back is killing me.  I grab a quick bowl of potato soup with mushrooms.  It's good, but the service at the restaurant is horribly bad, being run by late teens who have no sense of responsibility or service.  I have wanted to see the other church that faces the Hbf, but on the north.  It is Sanktmaria Himmelfahrtkirche, and it is also the complex from which the Erzbischof runs his archdiocese.  The church is gated, so the photos are restricted to what you can get from poking your camera through the grill.  It is a high baroque sanctuary situated in a late gothic building.  The ceiling is a wonder, an aspect of German churches that I have always liked.  All is gilt and putti.  The windows are modern, clear glass with a complicated modern leading that is difficult to photograph.

Down the street and next to the offices of the Archdiocese, is the studio of the man who is responsible (I think) for a great deal of the metal work in the city.  I am allowed in and look at all the beautiful things that he is created.  I will go back tomorrow to see more.

Lectern at the Dom

I go back to the hotel, first attempting to get into St. Ursula's, but to no avail.  My back is hurting, so I rest a bit.  I hit the cathedral one more time taking a few more photos - this time with the correct setting.  The crypt with the tombs of the Archbishops is especially interesting with more of the metal work that I saw at Minoriten.  The cathedral is jammed because it is raining outside, and people are staying in.  I go over to the cathedral bookstore, and then to the bookstore next to the German-Roman museum.  It is in the latter that I discover that the Barlach Engel is here in Cologne, hanging at St. Anthony's Church.  That will be tomorrow's adventure.

I have suppers (Goulash, Salad, and Vanilla Eis mit Rotegrütze - all excellent at a boisterous and sehr Gemutlich Gaffen am Dom.  A quick run, then, through the rain, and home.