St. Maria in der Kupfergasse

Between 1673 and 1675, the Discalced Carmelite nuns had a Loreto chapel (a replica of the casa santa from Loreto in Italy) built on the site of today's church, in which the image of the 'Black Mother of God', a sculpture of the Virgin Mary made of dark wood, was already venerated. Between 1705 and 1715, the chapel was rebuilt with a single-nave church in order to do justice to the growing importance of the place of pilgrimage. This new church in the Baroque style was Cologne's first brick church. Like so many other buildings, it was completely destroyed during the war and reconstructed in the decades that followed, including the gable of the church, which was largely rebuilt. The furnishings were also destroyed, but were replaced by baroque works from other churches, creating a unified whole. The result is a baroque church with a baroque interior from the post-war period! However, the great treasure of the church remains the original Black Madonna, which was saved during the war and is still visited by many people today.