Building Memory: Handling War Damage in German

Architecture
Gottfried Böhm, Chapel Madonna between the Rubble
Peter Zumthor, Kolumba Museum

Anda Cristina Popescu

Matriculation number: 14-983-720

Postwar Architecture in Italy and Germany

Prof. Dr. Sonja Hildebrand, Arch. Matteo Trentini
AA 2014-15, Master, sem I
 Table of Contents

Introduction 3
I. Handling War Damage
Reconstruction interventions after World War II 4
II. Gottfried Bӧhm
Madonna Between the Rubble and Kolumba Institute 7
III. Peter Zumthor
Kolumba Museum – A Place for Reflection 9

Conclusion 12

Bibliography 13
Introduction

The unprecedented destructions caused by the Second World War raised new
problematics in the field of architecture and construction, opening a path for
investigations and experiments. Trapped between morality and the temptation to
start from zero, architects struggle to create a new architecture to express the spirit
of hope for a new beginning while keeping alive the traces of the past.

In this work, we will analyze the case of Kolumba Museum from Cologne, in its
complexity, focusing on the events that followed the War and influenced the
building’s site evolution.

We will start by presenting the main directions architecture took in the postwar
period by describing three main interventions that still have a great influence on the
reconstruction process today. Among the important personalities mentioned in this
chapter we will stress the figure of Rudolf Schwarz, whose intentions and actions
have a direct connection with our subject.

The following chapter talks about the Chapel “Madonna Between the Rubble”, an
intervention made by Gottfried Bӧhm after the destruction of Saint Columba Church
following Schwarz’s principles in order to set a connection with the ruins while
keeping the sacred spirit alive.

As we step forward, we will describe the philosophy of the Archdiocese of Cologne

Art Museum that reflect into the competitions requirement and the winning project.
Afterwards, we will follow in detail Peter Zumthor’s procedures of creating
Kolumba Museum and the way he manages to unify the existent fragments in a
single element.

At the end all the arguments are brought together in order to stress the importance
of continuity for the discussed topic.

3
I. Handling War Damage
Reconstruction interventions after World War II

The bombing wave during World War II destroyed Germany’s main cities along with
more than 80 percent of their significant buildings. The devastation left afterwards
raised new questions regarding the reconstruction of the cities. This lead to different
strategies and principles of urban planning, oscillating between the problem of
recovering the past and a promising brand new beginning. Although the main dispute
was held among the two extreme types of intervention - the exact reconstruction or
tabula rasa - the method often used had a more sensible approach instead of following
a precise dogma, trying to fit the context of each intervention. Thus, literal
reconstruction was avoided and a new life was given to the ruins by respectfully
incorporating them in new buildings and new contexts while in the same time evoking
the memory of the past.1

These general premises gave birth to a different understanding of dealing with war
damage and attributed new roles to architecture. The new constructions should
become a symbol of hope but keep the imprint of the war at the same time2. Architects
such as Hans Döllgast, Egon Eiermann, Josef Wiedemann and Rudolf Schwarz, that
were part of the Modern Movement interrupted by the Nazi beliefs, were among the
first to follow these principles, and their interventions set an important example for
the following decades.

In Munich, Hans Döllgast started his intervention in the re-construction of the city
with Alte Pinakothek, built by Leo von Klenze between 1826 and 1836 for Luis I of
Baviera in order to host the royal painting collection3. Starting from the concept of
“formal analogy”, he creates different solutions for the ”modern reinterpretation of

1
Alfaro Lera, José Antonio, La memoria del lugar: Kolumba Kunstmuseum, ZARCH No.1, 2013,
Teorías Theories, p.307
2
“La arquitectura cumple una doble función: pedagógica - explica los desastres de la guerra - , y
terapéutica - recupera y transmite los valores de una nación que resurge de sus escombros”
(Architecture accomplishes a double function - pedagogical - explains the disasters of the war -, and
therapeutical - recovers and transfers the values of a nation that rises from the rubble), Ibid. p.308
3
Martínez-Monedero, Miguel, Hans Döllgast y la Alte Pinakothek de Munich: armonía y ritmo para
después de una guerra, 2006, Arqscoal 04: p.26
4
the monument” and in the final project he reconstructs the building re-using bricks
from the devastated city, showing the difference between existent and rebuilt through
the distinct materiality. Inside, he includes a double staircase that restores the
neoclassical composition of von Klenze.4 Josef Wiedemann, in the reconstruction of
the Glyptothek, recreates the original spaces using the abstractization of the forms in
brick while removing a previous restauration that was made as an exact copy of the
original.5 These two interventions from Munich introduce the use of brick as a
material for reconstruction procedures, creating a unified image of the building as it
was, while subtly marking the difference between old and new.6

In Berlin, the ruins of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church were integrated by Egon
Eiermann in a new architectural assembly supported by a stone platform. Although it
is considered that the old building has a “strong relationship” and “formal dialogue”7
with the new glass buildings, one can observe that maybe the gap between the two
different expressions interferes with the coherent reading of the “attractive
architectural still life”8. However, in this case the ruin is viewed from a geometric
point of view and it becomes part of a new system of relationships inside the project,
whereas the empty space reminds of the missing pieces of the original construction.9

While the mentioned architects had punctual interventions in the city of Cologne,
Rudolf Schwarz had a more influential impact on the reconstruction technique and
was in direct contact with what took place later on the site of Saint Columba Church.
Being in charge of the reconstruction of Cologne in 194610 and affected by the
destructions, he clearly expressed his position concerning the dispute about the
rebirth of the city:

“The notion of a ‘unique opportunity’ is misleading; that is, that the destruction of the
city represents an opportunity to build in the place of the old a better and more beautiful
one. Purely externally, this may be true. However, what has been destroyed through four

4
Alfaro Lera, José Antonio, La memoria del lugar: Kolumba Kunstmuseum, ZARCH No.1, 2013,
Teorías Theories, p.309
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid. p.308
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
Mantziaras, Panos, Rudolf Schwarz and the concept of Stadtlandschaft, Planning Perspectives, 18,
2003, p.147
5
 years of pitiless war is one of the noblest vessels of occidental tradition, smashed and
ruined in the most dreadful and callous way. The devastation was wild and blind, and
what remains is a terrible field of rubble where the old Cologne once stood, the
monuments of a millenary history and civilization irreparably damaged.”11

Schwarz’s main objective in Cologne was to maintain its historic and spiritual
identity while integrating it into a new economical foundation.12 He takes action to
conserve the medieval center of the city, symbolically keeps the old street names, and
tries but to never succeed to unify the twelve Romanic churches of Cologne with the
Cathedral through a single street.13

The postwar situation, the different natures of the reconstruction interventions and
the work of a revolutionary generation of architects led to setting the bases of a new
kind of approach to architecture that can also be observed in the case of Saint
Columba Church evolution after the war. In the next chapter we will talk about
Rudolf Schwarz’s relation with Dominikus Bӧhm as a catalyst for the intervention at
Saint Columba and we will set forth to analyze the Chapel “Madonna Between the
Rubble”.

11
Schwarz, Rudolf, Das Neue Kӧln, ein Vorentwurf, in Stadt Kӧln, ed. Das neue Kӧln, Cologne:
Verlag J. P. Bachem, 1950
12
Mantziaras, Panos, Rudolf Schwarz and the concept of Stadtlandschaft, Planning Perspectives, 18,
2003, p.148
13
Navarro Martinez, Virginia, El Museo Kolumba: Elogio de la Pieza Ausente, Revista Proyecto,
Progreso, Arquitectura, 2010, p.135
6
II. Gottfried Bӧhm
Madonna Between the Rubble and Kolumba Institute

From June 1940 to March 1945, the city of Cologne was constantly bombed, being
nearly completely destroyed after the War.14 The Church of Saint Columba, part of
the largest parish in the medieval city of Cologne, was reduced to fragments of
exterior walls, the base of the tower, and the north-east pillar of the main nave,
holding the statue of the Virgin Mary. The intact survival of the figure rising from
the ashes has been interpreted as a miracle and it became the symbol of life and
hope.15

Joseph Geller, senior pastor after the end of the war, dedicated himself to the task of
constructing a new building to protect the “Madonna Between the Rubble” and
shelter its believers. In this matter, he assigns architects Rudolf Schwarz and
Dominikus Bӧhm. Schwarz’s respectful approach to reconstruction, discussed in the
previous chapter, leads him further in setting clear guidelines for smaller scale
interventions: the buildings with minor damages should be restored under the
supervision of an authorized administration, while the ones left in ruin should be
consolidated and kept as historical document. For ruins of religious buildings, he
proposes their maintenance in memorial gardens, in which the religious spirit of the
place is kept by new small chapels. 16

The “Madonna Between the Rubble” chapel became the first project of Gottfried
Bӧhm, Dominikus’s son, whose early drawings from 1947 show a mere shelter for
the statue, like a tent in the mass of the ruin.17 The final construction overlapped the
existent traces of the past, aligning along the main axis. It consists of a small building

14
Galizzi Kroegel, Alessandra, “The Museum of Contemplation” or Kolumba. The Art Museum of
the Archbishopic of Cologne, in Valeria Minucciani (editor), RELIGION AND MUSEUMS
Immaterial and Material Heritage, Torino 2013, p.77
15
Site and Chapel, Kolumba museum website,
http://www.kolumba.de/?language=eng&cat_select=1&category=14&artikle=57&preview=
(consulted January 2nd)
16
Alfaro Lera, José Antonio, La memoria del lugar: Kolumba Kunstmuseum, ZARCH No.1, 2013,
Teorías Theories, p.310
17
Kappel, Kai, „Haus im Haus". Die Umsetzung eines Topos im modernen
Kirchenbau, 2004, P.252
7
with a single nave, finished in an octagonal space containing the altar with the statue
of the Virgin Mary. Following Schwarz’s principles, the chapel occupies only a small
part of the old edifice, enough to keep the religious character of the place alive. The
ruins are conserved and left visible as testimony of the past. Six of the eight sides of
the octagonal altar are covered with tall glass windows that frame the central figure
of the Madonna. Through them, a link between the interior of the chapel and the ruins
outside is established,18 ensuring a continuous reading of the space, crossing the
boundary of time.

In 1957, because of the growing numbers of disciples, the building is enlarged on the
northern side with a small construction having a squared plan, the Chapel of
Sacrament. Bӧhm designs the elevated altar, carving a bear in basalt on the west
façade.19 This gesture relates the new construction to the history of the place, as,
according to the legend, the bear was the protector of Saint Columba.

As later years show, Bӧhm’s wish to unify the whole assembly becomes evident in
his plans for rebuilding the Saint Columba Church, containing the existent buildings.
In 1973, he presents a project for a Kolumba Institute conceived as a meeting center
for Cologne Archdiocese. The project was never built, as in the following years the
excavations under the direction of Sven Seller brought to light a hidden history of the
site, going back 2000 years.20

As a link ensuring continuity between the principles of Rudolf Schwarz during the
postwar reconstruction crisis, and the later project of Peter Zumthor for Kolumba
Museum21, Gottfried Bӧhm’s Chapel “Madonna Between the Rubble” sets an
example for many following reconstruction interventions, but most of all stands out
for the sensibility and the care with which continuity is achieved, overpassing the
obstacle of the war.

18
Navarro Martinez, Virginia, El Museo Kolumba: Elogio de la Pieza Ausente, Revista Proyecto,
Progreso, Arquitectura, 2010, p.137
19
Site and Chapel, Kolumba museum website,
http://www.kolumba.de/?language=eng&cat_select=1&category=14&artikle=57&preview=
(consulted January 2nd)
20
See Schweizer, Rahel Hartmann, Trümmermadonna, TEC2148/2007, p.14-16 for detailed
information regarding the discoveries during Sven Seller excavations
21
Navarro Martinez, Virginia, El Museo Kolumba: Elogio de la Pieza Ausente, Revista Proyecto,
Progreso, Arquitectura, 2010, p.139
8
III. Peter Zumthor
Kolumba Museum – A Place for Reflection

The Art Museum of the Cologne Archdiocese was founded in 1853 as a classical
diocesan museum, following the gothic style22 and was “dedicated to collecting
medieval art, not only for the sake of preserving the historical objects, but also as
means of promoting the diffusion of both spiritual and aesthetic values.”23 Due to its
dictatorship’s connection with the world of arts, the museum’s ideas slowly started
to identify with contemporary art in relation with Christian tradition: “[…] just like
any form of artistic expression from any period of time, (contemporary art) offers an
interpretation of reality which may help its viewers to understand the world, namely,
to understand themselves, and others as well.”24 A concept for a new Diocesan
Museum started to take shape as a place where visitors reflect beyond the material
conditions of object in order to contemplate the real importance and art and its
universal and individual message.25 This would be achieved in presenting the works
of art it different relations between themselves and inserted in different contexts.26

A competition was started in 1996 by the need for a framework to stage different
contexts and meanings for the Archdiocese’s collection of art. Peter’s Zumthor’s
proposal proved to best meet the conditions of the contest, harmoniously integrating
the existent buildings in “a natural setting for people and art”.27

Zumthor places his building on the original plan, englobing the perimeter of the ruin
in the new walls to ensure a natural continuity for the site. Instead of using light
materials to protect the archeological ruins, he chooses massive load-bearing walls,
as to express the relation between gravity and time. The walls, 60 centimeters thick,

22
Kraus, Stefan, The Museum as a Laboratory of Aesthetics, Kolumba, Slave, No.2 Year 21, 2011
23
Galizzi Kroegel, Alessandra, “The Museum of Contemplation” or Kolumba. The Art Museum of
the Archbishopic of Cologne, in Valeria Minucciani (editor), RELIGION AND MUSEUMS
Immaterial and Material Heritage, Torino 2013, p.77
24
Ibid. p.79
25
Ibid.
26
Kraus, Stefan, The Museum as a Laboratory of Aesthetics, Kolumba, Slave, No.2 Year 21, 2011
27
Competition, Kolumba museum website,
http://www.kolumba.de/?language=eng&cat_select=1&category=14&artikle=57&preview=
(consulted January 2nd)
9
use the ancient Roman technique of building in two exterior layers of brick and filling
them with concrete. This allows the architect to create rooms of air inside the wall,
transforming it into a membrane that filters light and sound. By removing pieces from
it, alternations of light and shadow are generated inside the building. The two exterior
brick layers are built by hand, recording the rhythm of the movement in themselves.
They respond differently to their immediate surroundings by the change in
materiality. The outside face is made entirely out of custom made bricks, afterwards
named after the building, that horizontally alternate randomly and open towards the
top to let light in, whereas the inner part reuses bricks from the archeological site.
Thus, as the wall contracts in the lower part, it becomes a neutral background for the
ruins, blending with them, and as it opens it turns into a source of light, dramatically
illuminating the sacred space.28

The clarity of the project is very visible in the sections. 12 meters high pillars rise
from the level of the archeological site and extend to gold a massive slab that reaches
the perimetral walls. Underneath it, Gottfried Bӧhm’s Chapel “Madonna between the
Rubble” and the ruins rest in their original position keeping their dialogue, now
sharing the same intimate and sacred space. The two upper floors are held by the
pillars and contain the exhibition spaces. The use of artificial light alternates with the
natural as the wall contracts and expands, becoming a clear limit between the
exhibition areas and the outside world while surrounding the ruins in a diffuse
atmosphere.

The individual functionality of the small Chapel is kept through the original access
from the street. The access to the archeological site is made through one door and it
continues with a wooden path that crosses the ruins and invites the visitor to cross
through “the layers of time”.29

Inside the building, the presence of a courtyard replaces a “lost medieval cemetery”30,
becoming a timeless place of contemplation.

28
The previous and following information contained in the description of Peter Zumthor’s Kolumba
Museum is mainly taken from Alfaro Lera, José Antonio, La memoria del lugar: Kolumba
Kunstmuseum, ZARCH No.1, 2013, Teorías Theories, p.312-317
29
Ibid. p. 15
30
Portrait, Kolumba museum website,
http://www.kolumba.de/?language=eng&cat_select=1&category=14&artikle=61&preview=
(consulted January 2nd)
10
By skillfully fulfilling the exigencies of the competition and respecting the rich
context of the intervention, Peter Zumthor’s Kolumba Museum manages to add
another layer over the 2000 years of history without interfering with the traces of time
and to offer a new life to the “once most beautiful Cologne’s city center”.31 As a
result of many trials and errors in the field of reconstruction and dealing with war
damage, it demonstrates a maturity unprecedented by other interventions, taking care
of every detail in order to preserve and respect the past, while in the same time
anchoring it in the present. “As a “living museum” Kolumba enquires about the
freedom of the individual in an exchange between history and the present day, at the
intersection of belief and knowledge, and defends existential values by challenging
them through art”.32

31
Ibid.
32
Ibid.
11
Conclusion

Ehen it comes to war damage, the debate between extremes does not bring any
solutions. There is no correct answer or dogmatic approach to such a delicate matter.
Every intervention is different because each place has a unique story behind that must
be filtered through one’s own sensibility and dealt with respect.

A place as filled of history and symbolism as old Saint Columba’s Church site,
together with all its components can only be understood in its complexity by tracing
every intervention chronologically and in its correct context. Bӧhm’s Chapel cannot
be understood without knowing the impact of the war and the meaning of hope after
such a terrifying event, as his building’s sole purpose was to praise the chance of a
new life born from the ashes. By keeping the original functionality, the place
continued to exist in the heart of the city.

The need to bring the fragments together in a single building or complex, felt both by
Bӧhm and Zumthor, as well as by the Archdiocese of Cologne when they started the
competition, can be justified as a necessity to recover a lost glory of the city’s center
through a new meaning, but also to strengthen the relation between the layers of time.
Kolumba Museum achieves both, offering a protected final resting place for the
existent ruins and the chapel and keeping them anchored in the present through its
breathing walls while having an active and representative functionality in the city.

12
Bibliography

1. Alfaro Lera, José Antonio, La memoria del lugar: Kolumba Kunstmuseum,

ZARCH No.1, 2013, Teorías Theories

2. Galizzi Kroegel, Alessandra, “The Museum of Contemplation” or Kolumba. The

Art Museum of the Archbishopic of Cologne, in Valeria Minucciani (editor),
RELIGION AND MUSEUMS Immaterial and Material Heritage, Torino 2013

3.Kappel, Kai, „Haus im Haus". Die Umsetzung eines Topos im modernen

Kirchenbau, 2004, p.252

4. Kraus, Stefan, The Museum as a Laboratory of Aesthetics, Kolumba, Slave, No.2

Year 21, 2011

5. Mantziaras, Panos, Rudolf Schwarz and the concept of Stadtlandschaft, Planning

Perspectives, 18, 2003, p.147

6. Martínez-Monedero, Miguel, Hans Döllgast y la Alte Pinakothek de Munich:

armonía y ritmo para después de una guerra, 2006, Arqscoal 04

7. Navarro Martinez, Virginia, El Museo Kolumba: Elogio de la Pieza Ausente,

Revista Proyecto, Progreso, Arquitectura, 2010

8. Schwarz, Rudolf, Das Neue Kӧln, ein Vorentwurf, in Stadt Kӧln, ed. Das neue
Kӧln, Cologne: Verlag J. P. Bachem, 1950

9. Schweizer, Rahel Hartmann, Trümmermadonna, TEC2148/2007, p.14-16

10. Website Kolumba Museum,

http://www.kolumba.de/?language=eng&cat_select=1&category=14&artikle=57&p
review= (consulted between January 1st – 16th)

11. Website KUNSTLEXIKON SAAR, http://www.kunstlexikonsaar.de/artikel/-

/aspekte-die-kunst-unverwechselbar-zu-sein-tradition-und-innovation-im-werk-
gottfried-boehms/ (consulted January 2nd)

13