Kreitz Abbey (Holzheim)

Benedictine nuns founded Kloster Kreitz in 1899, and in 1901, it was elevated to a priory. The monastery church was constructed even before the actual founding of the monastery, between 1896 and 1898, following plans by the Cologne architect Heinrich Krings in the Neo-Romanesque style. An American bombing raid on May 26, 1943, severely damaged the monastery, killing 23 of the approximately 60 sisters living there at the time. Only the east and north wings survived the bombing, albeit with heavy damage. The destroyed monastery church was rebuilt in a simplified form on its old foundations. In 1961, a new wing with a guesthouse was built in place of the destroyed south wing.