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© Dismas87 · CC BY-SA 4.0

St. Johannes der Täufer

Listed clinic church of the University Hospital Cologne in Lindenthal, built 1962–1965 by Gottfried Böhm from exposed concrete and connected to the hospital buildings via an underground passage.

In the midst of the laboratory and clinic buildings of the University of Cologne stands the Catholic church of the University Hospital Cologne in Lindenthal. The exposed-concrete structure by Gottfried Böhm has been a listed monument since 2001 and remains closely interwoven with hospital operations to this day.

At a Glance

District
Lindenthal
Architect
Gottfried Böhm, with the collaboration of Kurt Günssler
Construction period
1962 to 1965
Architectural style
Post-war modernism / exposed-concrete architecture
Patron saint
John the Baptist
Heritage protection
since 2001 (Cologne monument list, no. 8541)
Award
Cologne Architecture Prize 1967
Capacity
around 350 worshippers plus about 30 bedridden patients
Did you know?

The church is connected directly to the clinics via an underground passage system and patient lifts, so that even bedridden or non-ambulatory patients can be brought to the services.

Things to do here

  • Contemplate Gottfried Böhm's colourful band of windows as a Stations of the Cross
  • View the late-Gothic crucifix from around 1410 on the altar wall
  • Take in the free-standing concrete architecture and the folded white ceiling
  • Visit the medicinal herb garden with the memorial column north of the church

History

Gottfried Böhm received the planning commission in 1958 following a competition limited to six architects. Originally, an institutional church with a rectory was planned; after a revision of the plans, a monastery building for around 80 nuns was built at the side instead, which today houses the dean's office of the Faculty of Medicine and the Ethics Research Unit. Construction work began in July 1962, the topping-out ceremony took place in December 1963, and the church was consecrated in September 1965. The patronage harks back to the medieval hospital of St. Johann Baptist on Breite Straße.

© HOWI - Horsch, Willy · CC BY 3.0

Architecture

The building is a clearly defined, cuboid hall, alongside which stands a very slender bell stele as a campanile, connected to the main building only by a small vestibule. The strongly and evenly folded roofscape terminates on the long sides in eight shallow zigzag gables each, contoured by projecting gargoyles. A broad band of windows on a low base structures the exposed-concrete walls, while the wall above remains completely closed up to the roof edge.

© Willy Horsch · CC BY 2.5

Interior

Inside, a white, folded ceiling spans the space without any support. The white colour stands for the otherworldly, while the exposed concrete of the parapet, floor and free-standing fixtures represents the earthly. These fixtures include two cylindrical confessionals and a cuboid organ gallery, beneath which a Marian chapel with a Pietà as well as the sacristy are located. From here, non-ambulatory patients can be transported between the clinic and the church via patient lifts. In the chancel, a free-standing altar wall serves as a right-angled baldachin for the cross.

© Elya · CC BY-SA 3.0

Furnishings

The vividly coloured band of windows designed by Böhm also serves as a Stations of the Cross; the stained glass was executed by Peter Winnen, and the wrought sculptures were designed by Hans Lückerath. A cross is modelled into the altar wall, on which hangs a crucifix figure roughly 103 cm high dating from around 1410, which before the Second World War was mounted in the nurses' residence of the clinics. The tabernacle was designed by Eva Burgeff-Kerkoff, while the ambo and font come from Böhm himself; the bronze font was made in 1965 at the Kölner Werkschulen.

© HOWI - Horsch, Willy · CC BY 3.0

Organ

The organ was inaugurated in June 2009 on the feast of St. John. It comes from a deconsecrated church in Vlaardingen near Rotterdam and was partly overhauled and rebuilt by the Cologne organ-building firm Peter.

© Egidius~dewiki · CC0

Worth Knowing

In 2006/2007, an elaborate concrete restoration became necessary, during which the grain of the original exposed concrete was reproduced as precisely as possible at the patched areas. In 2007, a small medicinal herb garden was laid out north of the church, in which a broken column commemorates those who left their bodies to medical research after death. In art-historical terms, the building is regarded as a transitional work of Böhm's, connecting the clear geometry of his early work with the sculptural ceilings of his later principal works.

© Elke Wetzig · CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1958
    Gottfried Böhm receives the planning commission following a competition
  2. 1962
    Construction work begins in July
  3. 1963
    Topping-out ceremony on 12 December
  4. 1965
    Consecration of the church to John the Baptist in September
  5. 1967
    Awarded the Cologne Architecture Prize
  6. 2001
    Added to the monument list of the City of Cologne
  7. 2007
    Concrete restoration completed and medicinal herb garden laid out

Gallery

© Elke Wetzig · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
© Elke Wetzig · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
© Elke Wetzig · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
© Elke Wetzig · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
© Elke Wetzig · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
© Elke Wetzig · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons

Map

Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.

Address

Joseph-Stelzmann-Straße 20
50931 Köln

Hours

Mo: 09:00–18:00

Di: 09:00–19:15

Mi: 09:00–18:00

Do: 09:00–19:15

Fr: 09:00–18:00

Sa: 09:00–18:00

So: 09:00–18:00

Contact

0221 4784952

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St. John's Church (Deutz)

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Protestant church from 1861 in Cologne-Deutz with an octagonal tower; gutted by fire in 1942 and gradually restored over the following decades.

Christi Auferstehung (Lindenthal)

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Sculptural concrete church by Gottfried Böhm at the head of the Lindenthal Canal – with a cave-like interior of branching pillars.

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