A khachkar has been installed in the German city of Cologne to honor the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Vicar of the Armenian Diocese of Germany Vardapet Serovbe Isakhanyan anointed the monument, after which those in attendance walked to the Surp Sahak Mesrop-Church for a memorial service.

The head of Cologne’s Armenian community, Armenia’s ambassador to Germany Ashot Smbatyan, deputy mayor Elfi Scho-Antwerpes and several lawmakers delivered remarks.

The German Bundestag passed a resolution on July 2, 2016 to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The move stirred a diplomatic crisis with Turkey, which denies the Genocide to this day.

The khachkar was erected with the efforts of Saint Petersburg-based Armenian philanthropist Hrachya Poghosyan.