One of the most remarkable churches in the Rhine region is not just unusual in appearance. Namen-Jesu-Kirche in Bonn has a foundation story like no other and an extraordinary history of change and setbacks that can be matched by few.

The church, known for its imposing twin-towered structure, stands as a testament to Bonn's rich heritage and an example of Jesuit Counter-Reformation building styles.

The church, time shows us, was meant to be, but almost never happened and almost did not survive into the 21st century.

In 1681 a timber cutter in a forest near Bonn found a piece of beech with a mark he read as the IHS Christogram. This is interpreted by some as "Iesus hominum salvator" (saviour of men) or "in hac (cruce) salus" (in this cross, salvation). But for many, the letters amounted to the holy name of Jesus, a version of the Greek.

When told of the discovery, the elector Max Heinrich, who was also archbishop of Cologne, agreed this was a sign and was moved to found a Jesuit church in Bonn. He donated funds and laid the first stone in 1686, specifying that it should carry Christ's name. The design was produced by Jakob de Candrea.

French occupations of Bonn

But in 1689, as work proceeded, the French under Louis XIV invaded the region and seized the building materials. Work resumed a few years later and the unusual facade was completed. Max Heinrich's nephew and successor Josef Clemens could not consecrate the church until 1717.

The Jesuits moved in, occupying the church until 1774 and running a school opposite. The Jesuit order was then suppressed by the church for decades, but the graves of 66 priests of the order remain in the crypt.

A century after rebuilding resumed, French troops returned and desecrated the church by using it as a stable, a fate not uncommon among churches occupied after the French Revolution. The church signed the building over to the French in 1800 under the terms of a treaty.

It was not used again as a church until 1877, when it was under Prussian control. Until 1934 it was used by the used by the Old Catholic church, then by the Roman Catholic church.

The next crisis again came from war. Aerial bombing during World War II caused heavy damage to the towers, facade and roof and the organ could not be salvaged. Repair was going to be extensive and expensive. A new organ had to be built.

The restoration and renovation was supported by donations, demonstrating the building's historical and cultural importance.

Another donation, from the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, came for a renovation. It cost more than €1 million, took seven years and when complete in 2012 the church was given to a new foundation for the separatist Old Catholic church.

A church interior of old and new

Inside, the style resembles a Gothic hall church. The restored rib vault and pillar painting is a highlight, but the theme of names continues. Each vault is named for a saint, except the easternmost, given to Christ, and the surrounding vaults named for the Holy Family and its forebears.

The Baroque pulpit (1698) is the only original piece inside. The archangel Michael stands on top, in combat with the Devil, shown as a dragon.

The extraordinary carved Baroque main altar is by Bartholomäus Dierix, featuring the Holy Family. There are Rococo side-altars from the mid-18th century, which have their own story. The paintings, of St Anthony of Padua and St Francis of Assisi, were missing for many years, but rediscovered and restored to the church in 2013. All three altars were salvaged from a now vanished church of a Capuchin abbey.

Today, the church’s story is honoured by a plain timber lectern made from a giant 300-year-old oak tree, known as “fat oak”, that collapsed in 2010. The lectern has a mark shaped as a cross from natural splitting of the trunk. There is also a new cathedra using the same timber. All were crafted by the artist Klaus Simon, appropriately in a woodland workshop.

The IHS Christogram is also carried on the facade, below a niche statue of Christ.

There is a rare mixture of styles in the facade, as a whole labelled Jesuit Gothic, which was restored in full after war damage had made its maintenance precarious. Romanesque sound holes, Baroque Italian domes reaching 53 metres, Gothic window arches and a Classicist decor are all features.

The oldest (and smallest) of the four bells, which used to be Bonn’s city fire bell, is older than the church, going back to 1535. These hang in the church’s southern tower.

The crypt is not open to the public.

The church, at Bonngasse 8, is close to the Beethoven-Haus. For more highlights of Bonn, read about the Haus der Geschichte, the LVR-LandesMuseum and the monuments of Münsterplatz.

Join the Raven Travel Guides Europe community and explore more culture and travel tips at ravenguides.com.