Church of St Ursula
Germany - Cologne - Dusseldorf - Frankfurt - Munich - Stuttgart - Hamburg - Berlin
For a tourist in Cologne a must visit tourist spot is the celebrated Church of St. Ursula. However, the reason for its celebrity status solely depends on its relics; and the relics, hold your breath, consists chiefly of the bones of eleven thousand virgins!
There is an interesting story associated with this church; the story of St. Ursula and her companions. According to popular belief, she was a Romano-British princess, daughter of King Donaut of Cornwall. She was going to meet her future husband Governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica, with 11,000 virginal handmaidens. While on sea, a storm miraculously brought their boat to a port in a single day. Ursula decided to go for a pan-European pilgrimage before marriage. She went to Rome with her handmaidens, Pope Cyriacus and Bishop of Ravenna, Sulpicius. Cologne, at that time, was captured by the Huns. Ursula’s virgin handmaidens were all beheaded by the Huns and Ursula was shot dead. They were all buried in a cemetery in Cologne. The Church of St. Ursula was built over that cemetery. She was named the patron saint of students. Angela Merici founded the Order of Ursulines, in 1535 which became devoted to the education of young girls.
She was so popular that Christopher Columbus named the Virgin Islands after her and her companions. Even Ferdinand Magellan named Cape Virgenes after her martyred companions.
When you visit the Church of St. Ursula in Cologne, you will surely find the view breathtaking. The wall and floor of the Church of St. Ursula, Cologne is full of bones and Coffins. You can see some heads cased in gold or silver and others are covered with caps made of cloth of gold and velvet. Take a look at the shelves of the Church and you will find skulls adorned with garlands and coronets. If you are a good observer then you can discover a tuft of hair attached to one of the skulls!
There is an interesting story associated with this church; the story of St. Ursula and her companions. According to popular belief, she was a Romano-British princess, daughter of King Donaut of Cornwall. She was going to meet her future husband Governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica, with 11,000 virginal handmaidens. While on sea, a storm miraculously brought their boat to a port in a single day. Ursula decided to go for a pan-European pilgrimage before marriage. She went to Rome with her handmaidens, Pope Cyriacus and Bishop of Ravenna, Sulpicius. Cologne, at that time, was captured by the Huns. Ursula’s virgin handmaidens were all beheaded by the Huns and Ursula was shot dead. They were all buried in a cemetery in Cologne. The Church of St. Ursula was built over that cemetery. She was named the patron saint of students. Angela Merici founded the Order of Ursulines, in 1535 which became devoted to the education of young girls.
She was so popular that Christopher Columbus named the Virgin Islands after her and her companions. Even Ferdinand Magellan named Cape Virgenes after her martyred companions.
When you visit the Church of St. Ursula in Cologne, you will surely find the view breathtaking. The wall and floor of the Church of St. Ursula, Cologne is full of bones and Coffins. You can see some heads cased in gold or silver and others are covered with caps made of cloth of gold and velvet. Take a look at the shelves of the Church and you will find skulls adorned with garlands and coronets. If you are a good observer then you can discover a tuft of hair attached to one of the skulls!
Today, however, not many believe in the story of the Church of St. Ursula in Cologne. According to the non-believers it is difficult to understand how so many women can come in a single boat! Some even say that there was actually one virgin by the name of Undecimilia, who by some mistake changed to eleven thousand. Others say that there might be only eleven of them which again by some exaggeration became such a huge number! However, once you visit the Cologne’s Church of St. Ursula, then all these logics become useless. A round of the Church of St. Ursula compels one to believe that the legend is true.
