St. Patrokli, Soest

About

The church was originally a basilica consecrated to St. Stephen and it had two turrets which were destroyed by fire. One can see traces of these towers even now. Today, the building's great green sandstone mass is impressive, but the most notable feature of the building is its 80-metre tall tower with four smaller turrets on its corners, which is often singled out by experts as the most beautiful Romanesque tower in Germany. The tower is called colloquially Turm Westfalens (Tower of Westphalia). The spacious forehall with loggia is another highlight. This once formed a connection from the modern church square. The tower was under municipal ownership until the beginning of the 19th century and served as the municipal armoury (today it is the church Museum). Some of the military artefacts (crossbow bolts) can now be seen in the museum of the Osthofentor [ de ].

The painting of the main apse with a modified version of the Christ Pantokrator motif was carried out by the painter Peter Hecker in 1954, after the "oldest and most extensive" apse memorial to survive from Westphalia was destroyed in the Second World War.

The original building (Building I), with a monumental westwerk, was…