Heilig Kreuz

Because the older church of St. Stephanus was no longer sufficient for the quarter, which had grown considerably through housing development in the 1920s, the parish held an ideas competition open to all of Cologne's Catholic architects. The stipulations were a tight budget of 180,000 marks and the desire for an unmistakably sacred, decidedly modern but not experimental building. Of 88 submitted designs, twelve made the shortlist; Heinrich Bartmann prevailed and also took charge of the construction management. Among the unsuccessful entrants was Dominikus Böhm, who came in fourth.

The church, which is not oriented to the east, is composed of massive building volumes, with the broad portal structure to the east standing out most prominently. Behind it rises a tall, basilica-like stepped nave, flanked by single-storey aisles with lean-to roofs. The brick exterior walls are articulated solely by tall, narrow round-arched windows, whose lintels are picked out in tuff stone. A large round window dominates the entrance front, which opens through three round-arched portals. Inside, a white-plastered nave with a continuous beamed ceiling shapes the impression of the space; the chancel is lit indirectly from the side.

In 1933 a still fairly new organ was taken over from St. Stephanus and heavily rebuilt during installation so that the rose window above the gallery would remain unobstructed. In the 1970s it was replaced by a three-manual instrument from Weyland Orgelbau, made possible by a fundraising campaign. The peal comprises six bells; the Otto bell of 1931 survives as the only pre-war bell, supplemented among others by a solo bell by Christian Claren from 1861 and three bells from the Eifeler Glockengießerei dating to 1987.