Propstei St. Kunibert
The provost's residence was demolished in 1905, but the gateway arches of its enclosure still stand – one of them bears the date 1508.
The provostry was one of the ecclesiastical administrative bodies of the Archdiocese of Cologne, which came into being as early as the early Middle Ages. Its grounds bordered directly on the collegiate church of St. Kunibert.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- former provostry of the collegiate foundation of St. Kunibert
- Location
- Altstadt-Nord, Innenstadt district
- Main building
- tower-like, four-storey structure
- Dissolution
- 1802, during secularization
- Demolition
- 1905
- Surviving
- gateway arches of the former enclosure
- Heritage status
- listed monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
Cologne's Provost's residence of St. Kunibert was a gift from Trier Archbishop Theoderich in 1227, with the condition that it must always remain available as a lodging for all future Archbishops of Trier.
What Can Still Be Seen Today
The gateway arches of the surrounding wall have survived to this day. The keystone of one of these passages gives the year of construction as 1508. Above it sits a stone relief crowned by a coat of arms. The inscription records that in 1764 the provost “Friedericus Ludovi de Scampar” once again commissioned building work on the provostry.
A Gift with a Condition
The provostry and its properties were a gift from Archbishop Theoderich to the canons of the collegiate foundation. Theoderich had himself served as provost of St. Kunibert from about 1195 to 1212 and afterwards became Archbishop of Trier. His gift was tied to a condition dating from 1227: the provostry was also to be available as a place to stay for future archbishops of Trier.
Building History
The city fire of 1376 destroyed parts of the parish and of St. Kunibert's church. The city accounts note, however, that the provostry was apparently restored within the same year. Another restoration began in 1508. According to Vogts, the provostry, like that of the collegiate foundation of St. Georg, was designed as a tall tower with a crenellated crown. In Woensam's city view of 1531 the building was still unfinished, while Arnold Mercator's bird's-eye view shows it with a new roof shape and no crenellations.
The Grounds
According to Mercator's depiction, the property stretched from the “Calhauser gaß”, which led to the Kahlenhausener or Judenpforte gate, to the lane “Off dem brand”, which sloped down toward the Rhine. The tower stood on the southeastern edge and was topped by a ball finial above a low hipped roof. Single-storey buildings followed along what is now Kunibertsklostergasse. The site, with about half a dozen further buildings, belonged to the immunity district of the foundation and was enclosed by its own wall.
After Secularization
When the foundation was dissolved in 1802, its real estate was confiscated and later passed into the hands of the Prussian treasury. In 1820 the church council of St. Kunibert bought the provostry. Until its demolition it served the parish as a rectory.
Timeline
- 1168Second elevation of the relics of St. Kunibert
- 1196Theoderich, first known provost by name, mentioned as witness in a charter
- 1227Donation of the provostry on condition it serve as lodging for Trier archbishops
- 1376City fire in Niederich; provostry restored the same year
- 1508Start of rebuilding or restoration of the provostry
- 1764Provost has further construction work carried out on the provostry
- 1802Provostry dissolved during secularization, properties confiscated
- 1820St. Kunibert parish board acquires the provostry from the Prussian treasury
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-10-19
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