Kreuzberg Church and Holy Stairs (Heilige Stiege), Bonn

The Holy Stairs on the Kreuzberg in Bonn is a late Baroque total work of art consisting of architecture, sculpture and painting. The "Scala Sancta" in Rome, the staircase that Saint Helena had brought from Jerusalem to Rome in 326 and over which Jesus Christ is said to have stepped to meet his Roman judge Pontius Pilate, is regarded as a model for the Holy Stairs.

The Holy Stairs on the Kreuzberg in Bonn is a late Baroque total work of art consisting of architecture, sculpture and painting. The "Scala Sancta" in Rome, the staircase that Saint Helena had brought from Jerusalem to Rome in 326 and over which Jesus Christ is said to have stepped to meet his Roman judge Pontius Pilate, is regarded as a model for the Holy Stairs.

The Kreuzbergkirche is a pilgrimage church with a monastery built in the Baroque period. The destination of the pilgrims was and is the “Scala Sancta” (“Holy Stairs”). This refers to the steps that Jesus climbed during his trial (sentence) before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem. This is where the tradition, which is still valid today, of only climbing the steps of this holy staircase on your knees, comes from.