Alt St. Alban – Ruin and Memorial at Quatermarkt

Alt St. Alban is the surviving ruin of one of Cologne's oldest Romanesque churches, on the Quatermarkt between the Gürzenich and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum. After its destruction in the Second World War it was not rebuilt but secured as a memorial.

At a glance

• First recorded: 1172; tower from 1494
• Destroyed: in the Second World War (all but the tower)
• Today: a memorial to the dead of the world wars
• Famous for: a copy of Käthe Kollwitz's "Grieving Parents"

A place of quiet remembrance

Inside stands a replica of Käthe Kollwitz's moving sculpture Grieving Parents, executed by her pupils Joseph Beuys and Erwin Heerich. The ruin itself is not open to the public because of its structural condition – but the memorials are clearly visible through the iron gates. From the donors' hall of the neighbouring Wallraf-Richartz Museum, a panoramic window looks onto the ruin.