In Cologne, two Catholic churches share a name, and a history touched by some of the same events.
The first is a medieval church, renovated and rebuilt many times by the time it was destroyed by bombing in March, 1945, four days before Allied troops entered the city.
Unlike many of Cologne’s churches, it was never restored; instead, it was set aside as a reminder of war and destruction. In 1959, it was designated to commemorate the fallen of both World Wars, and bronze copies of Käthe Kollwitz’s sculptures, ‘The Grieving Parents’ were installed.
Half a mile away, a new church was built for the St Albans congregation, but it, too, is connected to war and destruction. Its modern new design is a sharp departure from past designs, but a major portion of its walls is built with brick salvaged from the bombed-out Cologne opera house.
Its interior, too, is quite unusual.
