Dominican Monastery Cologne
Where Albertus Magnus taught and was buried: one of Germany's earliest Dominican monasteries, now lost to history.
The Dominican monastery "Holy Cross" was among the earliest establishments of the Order in the German-speaking world, situated in the medieval Cologne quarter of Niederich. It no longer exists today.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Dominican monastery with church, outbuildings, and nave
- Founded
- Probably 1221; formally established between Pentecost 1221 and 1224
- Location
- Formerly Breite Straße 4/corner of Stolkgasse; now Unter Sachsenhausen 4 (district Altstadt-Nord)
- Significance
- Alongside Friesach, one of the oldest Dominican monasteries in the German-speaking world; later main convent of the Rhine Province
- Notable connection
- Albertus Magnus taught and was buried here
- Dissolved
- Secularized 1802; church closed 28 September
When Albertus Magnus died in 1280 he was buried in the monastery church — but in 1483, over 200 years later, his bones were exhumed and placed in an elaborate raised tomb, which was then replaced yet again by a Baroque shrine in 1671: three burials for one man in a single monastery.
Things to do here
- Trace the footsteps of Albertus Magnus through medieval Niederich
- Visit today's site on Unter Sachsenhausen and picture the vanished monastery church
- Read up on the eventful history from founding to secularisation
- Continue on to Albertus's relics in the nearby church of St. Andreas
Foundation
Following the establishment of the "Teutonia" province at the General Chapter in Bologna in 1221, a delegation led by Frater Salomon travelled to Cologne. The canons of St. Andreas made the hospital of St. Mary Magdalene's Church available to them. The first Cologne prior was Brother Heinrich von Köln, a native of the city. By 1224, records refer for the first time to the "conventus Sanctae Crucis".
Albertus Magnus and the Studium Generale
In 1248, Albertus Magnus — who had already completed his novitiate here — returned from Paris to Cologne and took charge of the newly founded Studium Generale. He also established a botanical garden on the monastery grounds. After his death in 1280 he was interred in the monastery church; a raised tomb was created for him in 1483. His relics were transferred to St. Andreas in 1802.
The Monastery Church
Around 1250, a three-aisled Late Romanesque hall church measuring 35 metres in length, with a flat ceiling, was built west of Stolkgasse. In 1271 it received a horseshoe-shaped Gothic high choir, for which Albertus Magnus donated the greater part of his estate. A fire in 1659 largely destroyed the monastery, outbuildings, and nave, after which rebuilding took place.
Decline and Secularization
Until 1303 the monastery served as the organizational centre of the Order in Germany; thereafter Cologne led the "Teutonia" province. When French troops entered the city in 1794, churches and monasteries were requisitioned as field hospitals or barracks. In 1799 the then 31 monks were given just two hours to vacate the site. The monastery was secularized in 1802 and the church closed on 28 September.
Timeline
- 1221Foundation of the Dominican monastery 'Holy Cross' in Cologne
- 1248Albertus Magnus takes over leadership of the newly founded Studium generale
- um 1250Construction of a three-aisled late-Romanesque hall church (35 m long)
- 1271Church receives a horseshoe-shaped high choir in Gothic style
- 1475Foundation of the Cologne Rosary Brotherhood (8 September)
- 1659Monastery and church largely destroyed by fire (2 March)
- 1799French occupiers order the monks to leave the premises (17 June)
- 1802Monastery secularised, church closed on 28 September
Map
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26
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