St. Stephan, Religious building in Lindenthal district, Cologne, Germany.
St. Stephan is a neo-Gothic brick church built in 1884–87 to designs by August Carl Lange and Robert Mohr. Its 56.80-metre square tower, set diagonally, has brickwork framed by light stone banding, corner pinnacles and pointed arched openings, and is capped by a steep slate roof with small dormers. A lower flat-roofed structure with pale panels stands in front.
St. Stephan was built between 1884 and 1887 to plans by August Carl Lange and Robert Mohr, replacing the pastoral care previously provided from the Krieler Dömchen. A donation of 22,000 marks from an unknown benefactor in Aachen, arranged through the cloth manufacturer Robert Pfennings, closed the financing gap. The neo-Gothic church was destroyed in the air raid of 27/28 May 1941, one of the first churches in Germany hit; the tower burned out in April 1944 and was rebuilt in altered form after the war.
The parish library reopened on 27 August 1945 with donated books after the St. Stephan library burned in April 1944. The choir cross of the ruined church was re-erected as a gable cross on the parish hall on 25 December 1948. The tower and several furnishings were listed as monuments on 24 July 1985 and 19 June 2001.
The church sits in Lindenthal and is accessible by foot or public transportation through the district's main streets and routes. You can visit without special requirements or advance arrangements.
The tower is the only surviving part of the 1884-87 church; its steep spire fell in the RAF raid of 20-21 April 1944 and was rebuilt in altered form. The tower and several furnishings were listed as monuments on 24 July 1985 and 19 June 2001.
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