Limesstraße St. Severin in Cologne

St. Severin’s Church is not strictly oriented to the east. This is due to a late antique tomb which, according to Roman tradition, faced directly onto the main road (today’s Severinstraße). All subsequent churches built over this structure respected this orientation.

The preserved excavation site beneath the church is part of the large southern cemetery on both sides of the Roman road. It provides an impressive picture of burial practices in Roman and Frankish times. Graves, sarcophagi, and funerary structures can be viewed here in their original locations.

From the 10th to the 15th centuries, the Romanesque-Gothic pillar basilica and former collegiate church of St. Severin took on its present appearance in various construction phases. St. Severin’s Church, Severinstraße, the Severin Quarter, the Severin Gate, and the Severin Bridge – all located in the heart of the southern part of the city – are named after St. Severin. Severin lived around 400 AD in Roman Cologne and is the city’s third known bishop.