St. Pankratius, Parish church in Osterfeld district, Oberhausen, Germany.
St. Pankratius is a parish church in the Osterfeld district built in a neo-Gothic style using red brick, featuring cross-rib vaulting and an octagonal side chapel. The building has two organs: a smaller one for weekday services and a larger main instrument used for major ceremonies.
A first building at this location dates to the 11th century when Archbishop Heribert of Cologne transferred it to the Abbey of Deutz. The present structure emerged as a neo-Gothic brick construction, with the main organ installed in 1978.
The church is dedicated to Saint Pancras of Rome, and Osterfeld grew up around it; it was the mother parish of St. Cyriakus in Bottrop, which became independent in 1568. The parish returned to Catholicism after Archbishop Salentin von Isenburg's visitation of 1569. Since 2026 it has belonged, like all Catholic churches in Oberhausen, to the city parish of St. Clemens.
The church is accessible to visitors during religious services and offers a good view of its architectural features from inside. It is worth checking in advance whether services are being held to fully experience the interior space.
The four cast-steel bells were made in 1948 by the Bochumer Verein für Gussstahlfabrikation, cast in that firm's experimental rib 12. The set, called the Idealquartett, weighs almost 10 tonnes and is among the heaviest rings in Oberhausen and its surroundings.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,255 contributors worldwide.