Not much is left of the 12th-century parish church on the edge of the old part of town; today, only the steeple provides us with information about its medieval past. Completely destroyed in a bombing raid in 1945, the church was rebuilt after the war and finally rededicated in 1953.

These days, St. Gereon’s Church is not only a place of worship, but also a memorial. In the former christening church, one side of which consists entirely of stained glass windows, a permanent exhibition will soon be dedicated to the former pastor Franz Boehm. He preached in St. Gereon’s Church from 1938 to 1944 as a resistance fighter against National Socialism and died as a martyr in Dachau concentration camp in 1945.

The exhibition is open to visitors every day – except during church services.

Outside the church is the Franz Boehm Monument. It is a work of art created by Thomas Kesseler and an impressive memorial that invites you to pause a while and reflect on Monheim’s very courageous pastor during the dark years of the National Socialist regime.