Church of St. Pantaleon

The Church of St. Pantaleon (German pronun­cia­tion: [ˌzaŋt panʔˈtʰaːleʔɔn], Colognian (Kölsch) pronunciation: [ˌtsɪnt panˑˈtʰaˑlɪʲɔn]) is an early Romanesque church in Cologne, Germany. The church dates back to the 10th century and is one the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne. The former monastery church is consecrated to Saint Pantaleon and the Saints Cosmas and Damian and is the oldest church of the cult of Saint Pantaleon west of Byzantium. The empress Theophanu and the archbishop Bruno the Great are buried in the church, which also contains shrines of saints Alban, the first Christian martyr of Britain, and Maurinus of Cologne. Pope Benedict XVI visited the church in 2005.

A Roman villa originally occupied the hill, just outside Roman Cologne, on which the church stands. Remains of this villa are still visible in the church crypt. The villa was replaced with a church around 870 and in 955, Archbishop Bruno the Great (brother of Emperor Otto the Great) added a Benedictine abbey. Here, Bruno was buried after his death. In 966, work was begun on a new church to go with the monastery. The church was consecrated in 980.

Holy Roman Empress Theophanu, a Byzantine princess who was married to Emperor Otto II in 972, ordered the construction of the current facade and was also buried in the church at her own request.

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