St. Kolumba - Madonna in den Trümmern

The 'Madonna in the Ruins' chapel stands on the site of the destroyed parish church of St Kolumba, of which only the remains of the walls remained after the war. A late Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary was also preserved, which became the centrepiece of the chapel built by Gottfried Böhm between 1947 and 1950. The chapel consists of an octagon/choir and an entrance and vestibule area, which were created in what remained of the old church. The octagon, however, consists of vertical concrete elements and struts, between which marvellous stained glass windows with angel motifs by Ludwig Gies were installed. On the back wall, however, there is the aforementioned Madonna from the 15th century. The floor consists of pieces of rubble from the destroyed church and blends harmoniously into the overall picture. The adjoining Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, which is darker in colour than the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, was built in 1957. In its centre is the altar designed by Böhm with a tabernacle by Elisabeth Treskow. Four candle pillars made of light-coloured marble reaching up to the ceiling frame the altar and are strikingly eye-catching. The dark east wall contrasts strongly with the light-coloured altar and was decorated with a modern relief of the Stations of the Cross by Rudolf Peer. Since 2003/07, the chapel has been integrated into the new 'Kolumba' diocesan museum.