St. Gereon Church, Cologne

In a niche north of the entrance is a section of an ancient granite column known as the Blutsaüle (Blood Column). The Latin inscription embedded in the wall above it indicates a martyr's blood (St. Gereon?) was splashed on it and it was preserved as a relic. The inscription translates broadly as: "Faith before time poured this blood here. If I come to it with sin, I am punished for it." From the early Middle Ages there are literary sources mentioning an area near the entrance as having miraculous properties, which likely refers to this column.