St. Bartholomew's Burial Church
Former parish church in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, used since 2014 as a columbarium with a prayer room.
since 1959
In Cologne's Ehrenfeld district stands St. Bartholomew's Burial Church, a former Roman Catholic parish church. Since 2014 it has served as a columbarium, where the ashes of the deceased are laid to rest in burial chambers.
At a Glance
- Location
- Cologne-Ehrenfeld
- Built
- 1958–59, consecrated in December 1959
- Architect
- Hans Schwippert (Functionalism)
- Repurposed
- as a burial church/columbarium since 24 January 2014
- Capacity
- 2,400 urn spaces in 800 double and 800 single chambers
- Heritage status
- listed monument since April 1995 (Cologne monument list no. 7460)
- Administered by
- parish of Saints Rochus, Dreikönigen and Bartholomäus
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
History
Architect Hans Schwippert was commissioned with the design in 1955. Construction took place in 1958–59, followed by consecration in December 1959, with the church tower added in 1962.
The building was added to Cologne's list of monuments in April 1995. After the parishes of St. Rochus, St. Dreikönigen and St. Bartholomäus were merged, the church council decided in 2006 to convert the church into a burial church.
An architectural competition was announced in January 2011, and the design by Hans-Peter Kissler of Wiesbaden was chosen. Following the building permit in March 2013, Auxiliary Bishop Melzer opened the burial church on 24 January 2014, with the first urn interment taking place on 27 January 2014.
Architecture
The church is deliberately plain and was built on an almost square floor plan. The interior features bare exposed concrete, while the outer façade is clad in red brick.
Art and Furnishings
In 1978 the stained-glass windows by Giselbert Hoke were installed, depicting the Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi. The Stations of the Cross by the Czech artist Ludek Tichy were added in 1988. In today's prayer room, the windows and Stations invite visitors to reflect on life and death.
A curtain of metal mesh separates the central chapel area from the burial sites. The liturgical objects were also newly created for the church's new use.
Present-Day Use
The urn spaces are arranged in steel walls with burnished brass surfaces around the chapel area. Once the resting period has ended, the ashes are transferred to an "eternity room" beneath the ambulatory, and a name plaque in a chapel continues to commemorate the deceased. St. Bartholomew's is the first and so far only burial church in the Archdiocese of Cologne (as of 2019).
Gallery
Map
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Address
Helmholtzpl. 13
50825 Köln
Hours
Mo: 10:00–13:00
Di: 10:00–13:00
Di: 15:00–17:00
Mi: 10:00–13:00
Do: 10:00–13:00
Do: 15:00–19:00
Fr: 10:00–13:00
Sa: 10:00–17:00
So: 10:00–17:00
Contact
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Official website (retrieved 2026-08-19)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-08-19)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-08-19)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-08-19
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