St. Cyriakus, Romanesque parish church in Mendig, Germany

St. Cyriakus is a Romanesque parish church in Niedermendig, Mendig, with plastered walls and a west tower whose first two storeys were finished by 1216. The nave has two rectangular bays and a square choir; the south aisle ends in a Gothic chapel built in the second half of the 15th century, with black basalt lava buttresses. Eleven oak roof trusses from 1175–1195 survive above the nave.

Construction of St. Cyriakus began around 1180, with the earliest sections of the west tower completed by 1216. Building activity continued over subsequent centuries, adding to the structure in phases.

The wall paintings were uncovered during the 1886–1888 renovation and have been exposed since 1897. The earliest layer, painted shortly after 1200, shows the Instruments of the Passion in the vault, including the lantern, rooster, crown of thorns, scourge, cross, lance, sponge and ladder. A knight on the south wall, dated around 1300, recalls the Crusades.

The church stands in Niedermendig, a district of Mendig; the old church is entered through the late-Romanesque south portal with its 1717 Baroque frame. The neo-Gothic extension of 1852–1857 adjoins the north side, so both buildings are seen together. A 16th-century atonement cross stands on the former churchyard by the church.

The eleven oak timber frames were analyzed scientifically and dated to the 12th and 13th centuries, offering insights into medieval construction methods. Such precise dating allows researchers to trace building history with accuracy.