Rochuskapelle
The oldest surviving building in Cologne's Ehrenfeld district – a chapel founded in 1666 following a plague outbreak.
Tucked away in the Bickendorf neighborhood, this small chapel has survived an explosion, wartime demolition of its surrounding manor, and centuries of change while still standing on its original site.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Sacred building (chapel)
- Location
- Bickendorf neighborhood, Ehrenfeld district
- Built
- 1666
- Claim to fame
- oldest surviving building in Bickendorf and the entire Ehrenfeld district
- Facade
- Neo-Gothic, with a central entrance and two pointed-arch blind windows
- Heritage status
- listed since June 1, 1982 (No. 1039)
In 1842 a barrel of gunpowder on a cart exploded next to the chapel, tearing a large hole in its gable wall – the building was nearly destroyed and had to be reduced in size once again.
Name and Patron Saint
The chapel is named after Saint Roch of Montpellier, traditionally invoked for protection against the plague, to whom the building is dedicated.
History
Following an outbreak of the plague, cathedral canon Heinrich von Mering commissioned the chapel in 1666 as a private manor chapel to provide spiritual care for the workers on his estate. That estate was later demolished in 1940. Until 1802, the chapel served as a subsidiary of the parish church of St. Mechtern, with its catchment area extending as far as what would later become Venloer Straße—a street that didn't yet exist at the time. When Bickendorf was granted its own parish rights in 1802, the chapel briefly took on the role of parish church itself, from 1836 to 1847.
Alterations and Destruction
By 1733, the building's condition had deteriorated, prompting the founder's nephew, Heinrich Friedrich von Mering, to renovate and simultaneously shrink it, since the passage between the manor and the chapel had proven too narrow—part of the nave was removed in the process. In 1842, a gunpowder keg exploded on a nearby cart, nearly destroying the structure and blowing a large hole in its gable. The building was subsequently shortened by another 2.5 meters to its present size and given its Neo-Gothic facade, with a further restoration following in 1925. Of the original structure, only the choir and a small portion of the nave remain.
Good to Know
A niche in the gable houses an old wooden statue of Saint Roch, beneath which an inscription reads "1733–1842."
Timeline
- 1666Built as a manor chapel after a great plague, dedicated to St. Roch
- 1733Renovated and reduced in size due to poor structural condition
- 1802Bickendorf granted its own parish rights
- 1836–1847Chapel used as parish church
- 1842Gunpowder barrel explosion nearly destroys chapel, further reduced in size
- 1925Chapel restored
- 1940Demolition of the associated manor farm
- 1982Listed as a heritage monument on 1 June
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-04
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