St. Gertrude's Basilica in Morsbach

Following the initial settlement (around 500-900 AD) or at the time of Morsbach's first documented mention (around 895), a first chapel, likely made of wood or stone, was probably built on a rocky plateau above the present-day village center. Shortly before construction began on the current church, in 1131 Pope Innocent II confirmed the ownership rights of the Cassius Foundation in Bonn to the Morsbach church. The construction of the nearly 31-meter-high church tower took place between 1150 and 1200, and the nave and chancel between 1200 and 1250, roughly 800 years ago. By the time the foundation stone for Cologne Cathedral was laid in 1248, the church in Morsbach was already completed.

At that time, the most robust late Romanesque gallery basilica in the Oberbergischer Kreis district was built in the small town of Morsbach – a three-aisled church without a transept. The thick walls, small windows, and round arches (in contrast to the Gothic style of Cologne Cathedral with its thin walls, large windows, and pointed arches) are testaments to the Romanesque architectural style.

Of particular importance are the frescoes in the church's chancel. They date back to the time of its construction and were only rediscovered and uncovered in the 1950s. Otherwise, the church has undergone hardly any changes over generations. With its first documented mention in 895, Morsbach is the oldest place in the Oberbergischer Kreis district and its neighboring communities.
The ring of old linden trees around the parish church

Around the parish church, there are 25 linden trees in the churchyard and five in the rectory garden. They were probably planted around 1870, after the cemetery was moved from the churchyard to another location. Barn owls sometimes perch in the linden trees at night, hunting mice in the rectory garden and the churchyard. These rare birds have been nesting in a nesting box in the church steeple for years.
Text: Christoph Buchen