Tersteegenhaus
Protestant church in Cologne-Sülz, consecrated in 1928 as a community hall — its former event hall now serves as a worship space with chairs arranged in a circle around the altar.
The Tersteegenhaus on Emmastraße in Cologne-Sülz is a Protestant church belonging to the Cologne-Klettenberg congregation. Consecrated in 1928 as a community hall, it only received its name after 1945 — honouring Gerhard Tersteegen, a theologian and writer of Reformed Pietism.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Protestant church (the congregation's second church, after Johanneskirche)
- Location
- Emmastraße, Sülz district, Lindenthal borough
- Consecrated
- October 1928
- Architects
- Heinrich Mattar and Eduard Scheler
- Construction
- Exposed brick with architectural and sculptural details in basalt lava stone
- Named after
- Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769)
- Status
- Listed monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
The Tersteegenhaus was never meant to be a church: its current worship space was simply an events hall with a stage, which only became the altar area because the Great Depression left the congregation without funds to build the planned church next door.
History
As Cologne's population grew and more Protestant families moved into the Sülz/Klettenberg area in the early twentieth century, new church spaces were needed. The congregation acquired a plot at the corner of Wittekindstraße in 1924, laid the foundation stone in 1927, and consecrated the building in 1928. A proper church was originally planned for the adjacent lot, but the Great Depression put paid to those funds — so the community centre itself was repurposed as a place of worship.
From Event Hall to Church
Services moved into the large first-floor hall, which had only ever been designed as a venue. Its north-side stage initially served as the chancel. The altar's position shifted several times over the decades; today it stands in the centre of the hall, with chairs arranged in a circle around it. On the west wall, facing the window front, hangs a metal-coated panel with a cross-shaped opening.
War and Rebuilding
Bomb strikes during the Second World War left the building heavily damaged, though the structural fabric and the organ survived. With its windows blown out, the worship hall could only be used provisionally — heated by an open coke fire. After restoration, it was reconsecrated on 3 April 1949.
Design
A small bell tower with three bells was added in 1956 to make the building more recognisable as a church from the outside. In 1958, a timber ceiling and five stained-glass windows designed by Elsa Schultz were installed; the windows depict salvation history in gently abstracted imagery, forming a continuous sequence: the Window of Creation, the Window of the Law, the Window of Christ, the Window of the Church, and the Window of the Fulfilment of the Heavenly Jerusalem.
Today
The worship hall on the first floor is accessible by lift. The ground floor houses a parish office and a kindergarten; three meeting rooms, the church hall, and a foyer are available for groups and events. Services are held on Sundays and public holidays, with communion celebrated every Sunday. On the neighbouring plot once earmarked for a church, the Friedrich-Lamerdin-Haus was built between 2010 and 2011, offering age-appropriate apartments for senior residents.
Timeline
- Herbst 1924Congregation acquires building plot at Emmastraße / Wittekindstraße
- 6. November 1927Foundation stone laid
- Oktober 1928New community house consecrated
- 3. April 1949Re-consecration of worship hall after war damage
- 1956Small bell tower with three bells added
- 1958Wooden ceiling and five stained-glass windows (design Elsa Schultz) installed
- 1988Renovation: lift added and basement expanded
- 2004Most recent interior conversion and renovation
Map
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27