Cologne - St. Johann Baptist

Historically St. Johann Baptist is one of the oldest churches in Cologne, first mentioned in 948, this was a parish church since 1080.

During WWII Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids. The first-ever 1,000 bomber raid by the RAF ("Operation Millenium") was conducted on Cologne in May 1942. In April 1945, when the American army reached Cologne, the city was completely ruined. About 90% of all houses in the inner city were - gone. In 1939 Cologne had had a population of more than 700.00. In spring 1945 there were only about 40.000, living in the ruins.

St. Johann Baptist was almost completely destroyed. Only some walls of the Romanesque nave could be integrated into the church, that was "rebuilt" in the late 1950s in modern, sober style.

Some furnishings of the old church survived the war. One is the shrine of St. Antonina, a companion of St. Ursula, from the 2nd half of the 14th century - and the reliquaries behind