St. Cross Church, Romanesque church in Hildesheim, Germany

Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche is a Romanesque church in Hildesheim whose nave largely survives from a fortified gatehouse, the domus belli. Pillars rather than columns carry the arcades to the narrow aisles. The east end is marked by an unusual bridge in the crossing arch, behind which lie the octagonal crossing tower and rectangular choir. The south aisle has 14th-century Gothic chapels; the north aisle was rebuilt after 1700 in Baroque form.

The core of the building was a three-nave gatehouse of Bishop Bernward's town fortification, the domus belli, not a Carolingian structure. Under Bishop Godehard it became a church with a westwork; in 1079 Bishop Hezilo added a choir, crossing and transept and founded a collegiate chapter, endowing it with a golden altar cross containing cross relics. The south chapels date from a 14th-century Gothic phase, the north aisle was rebuilt after 1700, and the west facade was renewed in 1712.

The name comes from the cross relics that Bishop Hezilo placed in the collegiate chapter he founded in 1079, and he donated a golden altar cross to hold them. The church still keeps a Gothic wooden Pietà near the main portal and a bronze baptismal font cast in 1592 by Mante Pelkinck.

The church sits about a hundred meters east of Hildesheim Cathedral on Kreuzstrasse and is easily reached on foot. The elevated location gives visitors a clear view of the surrounding area when approaching the building.

The unusual "bridge" in the crossing arch marks the eastern exit of the former gate hall; behind it lie the octagonal crossing tower and Hezilo's rectangular choir. The nave pillars, rather than columns, still recall the building's military origin.