St. Maria ad Gradus

St. Maria ad Gradus ("Our Lady of the Steps", also colloquially called Mariengraden in German language) is the name of a former church located East of the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany, situated between the cathedral and the Rhine.

Founded by Herman II, Archbishop of Cologne, the church was the burial site of blessed Richeza of Lotharingia (died March 1063), a former Queen of Poland and a grandchild of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Theophanu.

[1] The Romanesque building, 55m long and 42m wide, was probably completed by Archbishop Anno II in 1075, when the relics of St. Agilulfus of Cologne (died 750) were transferred there.

[3] Konrad von Hochstaden was canon of St. Maria ad Gradus and Archbishop of Cologne at this time, from 1238 to 1261.

Following the French occupation of the Rhineland in 1794, monasteries and religious foundations were dissolved, and churches abandoned.

Drawing by Johannes Vinkenboom, 1660
The site of the church, with the east end of the cathedral in the background
The remains of the church, with the cathedral in the background, before 1825