The Basilica of St Ursula in Cologne

Since today is the feast of the virgin martyrs Saint Ursula and her companions, we continue our series on the twelve Romanesque basilicas of Cologne, Germany, with the one dedicated to them, where their putative relics are kept. (A previous article which I have written about the legend of these Saints will explain why I say “putative relics.”) This church was originally founded in the fourth century fairly close to a very large Roman cemetery, and renovated various times before the rebuilding which brought it to its current form. (All images from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted.)

A gilded altar frontal from the church of St Ursula in Cologne, ca. 1170, partly repainted in the 15th century and 1844; now in the Schnütgen Museum in Cologne. (Public domain image by Daderot.) 

The Roman cemetery, containing hundreds of graves and thousands of bones, was discovered in 1106 when a project was begun to expand the city’s fortifications. This discovery led also to the expansion of the Saints’ legend to include a number of impossible events and fictious personages, and provided the impetus to the building of an impressive new church to house the huge number of new-found relics. The new church was begun in the second quarter of the 12th century, following the orientation of its predecessor, but also including a large, vaulted crypt chamber to house the many new relics. 

The church was severely damaged during the many bombing raids that struck Cologne, and by the end of the war, had been largely reduced to a ruin. Restoration on the main building was completed in 1972, and the Golden Chamber finished in 1978.

The church’s belltower is believed to have been completed around 1230, while the large Gothic choir on the east side was begun around 1255, and finished by the end of the century. In the same period, a second aisle was added to the church’s south side as a Lady Chapel.

The main sanctuary seen from the organ loft. As with many other churches throughout Germany, the modern restorers took advantage of the destruction inflicted on the church during the Second World War to “restore” the sanctuary to a primitive state that has nothing to do with its original form. 

The Gothic choir.

The choir has 11 bays of stained glass windows with innumerable representations of the 11,000 virgins.

Some of the relics are kept on the main altar in the choir.

The ceiling of the Golden Chamber.

The altar and many of the relics...

which also line the walls. The upper part is a mosaic made out of bones of the putative martyrs recovered from the cemetery.