Saint Pantaleon, Cologne

The Holy Roman 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.

[2] 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.

A semaphore telegraph was placed on the roof of the church to enable rapid communication between Cologne and the Prussian capital of Berlin.

The coffered ceiling in the nave, depicting the Tree of Jesse and portraits of various saints, was designed and constructed by artist Dieter Hartmann and was made possible by support of the booster club for the Romanesque churches of Cologne.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the church on 19 August 2005, during World Youth Day 2005, and addressed a group of seminarians.

[5] On 10 August 2006, Cardinal Joachim Meisner blessed a new chapel in the church dedicated to Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.

The remains of Saint Alban probably ended up in the church after the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII of England in the 16th century.