St. Joseph (Cologne-Rodenkirchen)

In the 1860s the St. Maternus parish had built the neo-Gothic Maternus church in the north of Rodenkirchen, expecting growth toward Cologne. Instead the then still independent town — incorporated into Cologne only in 1975 — expanded southward, especially after the Second World War. In 1951 the parish therefore decided to build a new church further south; the donation of a plot of around 8,000 square metres allowed for generous planning.

Dominikus Böhm received the commission in 1955, though his plans already dated from 1954. Shortly after the cornerstone was laid he died in August 1955, and his son Gottfried finished the work in his father's spirit. The church was consecrated in 1956 and a separate parish was founded. Parts of the furnishings followed later, including the first organ (1961) and the choir windows (1963). In 1991/92 Rolf Link, who had been involved in the design as early as 1955, led a renovation that redesigned the interior and forecourt and installed a new organ.

The large gable window bands on the altar side were designed by Hubert Berke as an abstract composition of the eight Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:3–10); he also created the rounded window in the Lady Chapel. The altar is based on a design by Gottfried Böhm, the altar cross was made by Walter Prinz (1972), and the tabernacle by Theo Heiermann. The organ installed in 1991, built by the Oberlinger firm, has three manuals and 35 stops. The four-part bronze peal was cast by Franz Otto in 1958.