The Doppelkirche as the Double Church of St. Mary and St. Clement is a Romanesque church in Schwarzrheindorf that is an eastern suburb of Bonn. The church was completed around 1151. The Doppelkirche was constructed as a place of worship for adjoining castle of Earl Arnold von Wied, who was provost of Cologne Cathedral and Chancellor of Emperor Konrad III. The castle was a made on the pattern of the Carolingian fortification so the Rhine crossing can be protected and kept aloof and isolated.
The church was consecrated on April 24, 1151 by the Archbishop of Cologne and the Elector Arnold von Wied in the attendance of Holy Roman Emperor Konrad III. After the wall paintings of the lower church being completed by a talented monk from Cologne, the Arnold became the Archbishop of Cologne. Arnold von Wied died in 1156 and was buried in the center of his church, beneath the tower. The interiors of the church were spoilt during the wars of the 16th and 17th centuries and the murals there were entirely got covered with the whitewash. The convent was destructed in 1806, at which time all the furnishings and windows were destroyed or sold. Even the church too was under the threat of destruction, however, was being revived and saved by the Prussian Chancellor von Hardenberg. The local people reconsecrated the Upper Church on October 18, 1832, and services there resumed. In 1865, the lower church too was consecrated as well and since 1868 the Doppelkirche has been the parish church of Schwarzrheindorf. The church too somehow survived the attacks of World War II as well.
The Double Church of Schwarzrheindorf at its exterior has a very pleasing plaster in white that is further decorated with pink and yellow paint. The paint job at the church is from a restoration of 1973 and gives a good sense and feel of churches during medieval period. Within the church there are two levels to appraise and look for. The lower church there is for local community and an upper church is for the lords of the castle and later the nuns. However, the both has a common plan like as an apse with altar in the east end; small north and south transepts or apses and a straight extension to the west for seating and entry. The upper church can be climbed up by a covered stone staircase at the south side. Here the Emperor used to sit on an elevated throne in the west end, so he could see the altar in the lower church through the octagonal opening in the center.
It is primarily famous for its medieval murals that even cover the both levels of the church. Mural at the lower church date from c.1150 and those of the Upper Church from closer to 1190, combining, they both form one of the most complete sets of Romanesque murals still in existence in Germany.




