Strange name for a church isn’t it? St. Gregorius am Elend. The name translates to St. Gregorius at the Misery. This church has a history tied to the less fortunate.
St. Gregorius am Elend is a church in Cologne’s Old Town-South district. It stands on An St. Katharinen street. The church you see today is a reconstruction. The original 18th-century structure was destroyed in World War II.
The church’s name comes from the nearby Elendenfriedhof. This was a cemetery for foreigners and the poor. In the 16th century, Protestants were sometimes buried here. Later, bones from overcrowded cemeteries were moved here. Imagine the stories those grounds could tell.
In 1473, there was talk of building an altar. This suggests a chapel existed at this spot. The administrators of the neighboring St. Katharinen Hospital commissioned the construction. A master builder named Johann Marburg was hired. In 1528, the chapel was mentioned but not yet consecrated.
In 1678, Jakob de Groote the Younger established a family foundation. It was for holding public services in the chapel. He had the chapel expanded and a bell tower added. Saint Pope Gregory the Great became another patron of the chapel. It was already dedicated to Saint Michael.
The administrators of the Groote foundation started building the current St. Gregorius am Elend in 1764. They were Eberhard Anton de Groote and Franz Jakob de Groote. Eberhard was a canon of St. Gereon and St. Maria im Kapitol. Franz Jakob was the mayor of Cologne. The cornerstone was laid in 1765. The church was consecrated in 1771.
Between 1937 and 1939, St. Gregorius am Elend was extensively restored. However, the church was badly damaged during the Peter and Paul bombing raid on June 29, 1943. Only the outer walls remained. These were included in the post-war reconstruction. The church was re-consecrated on February 12, 1967.
The phrase “das Elend bauen” meant “to go into a foreign land”. It often referred to pilgrims. They left home to visit distant pilgrimage sites. Travelers often died from accidents, attacks or diseases. Brotherhoods and hostels sprang up across Europe to care for them.
In Cologne, the burial system was tied to small parish churches. Foreigners could not be buried in a regular churchyard. So, the city had three Elendenfriedhöfe. The one near St. Johann Baptist is still visible on the city map. In 1371, it was called a “cimiterium alienorum” a cemetery for foreigners. By 1528, the cemetery chapel of St. Michael was complete.
For a few years in the 16th century, members of the Protestant faith were buried here. This was until the Geusenfriedhof opened outside the city. Later, soldiers of the imperial city troops were buried here. In the 17th century, the Groote family acquired the land. They renovated the cemetery chapel as a private church.
St. Gregorius was the last sacred building erected in Cologne. This was before the French invasion in 1794. Only the outer walls survived World War II. The architect Karl Band oversaw the reconstruction. He also added the Schönstatt Chapel. The Schönstatt Sisters of Mary lived in the former Groote family home. They cared for the grounds for many years.
In 2015, the interior was renovated. It was re-consecrated for the 250th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone. St. Gregorius is the last remaining of Cologne’s former family churches. The von Groote family still owns it. They use it for All Saints’ Day. Also for family baptisms, weddings, and anniversaries.
So next time you pass by, remember St. Gregorius am Elend. Remember its history and those who found their final resting place here.