Cologne - Christi Auferstehung

Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany - and one of the oldest. A Germanic tribe, the Ubii, had a settlement here, this was named by the Romans "Oppidum Ubiorum". In 50 AD, the Romans founded "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium", the city then became the provincial capital of "Germania Inferior".

After the First Vatican Council those Catholics, who did not accept the decisions (dogmas of the infallibility and the primacy of the pope's jurisprudence), fell into excommunication, these Christians founded the "Old Catholic Church".

In Cologne the Old Catholics erected the parish church in 1906, it got consecrated in 1907. Of this church only the bell tower can be seen here, as after the church got completely destroyed during the 262 separate air raids, conducted on Cologne during WWII (eg "Operation Millenium"), the Old-Catholic parish was unable to rebuild the church. They just did not have the funds.

So the parish erected a small church (to the left) and sold the plot, where an office building got constructed. However the Cologne authorities required that the new building should show the original outline of the church. The silhuette is now well visible - but as well it reminds on a landed ufo.

Seen in the backdrop is the telecommunications tower, named "Colonius". The restaurant up on the tower is meanwhile closed.