St. Nicholas' Church (Stralsund)

Geschichte

St. Nicholas' Church (Nikolaikirche) is the oldest of the three major parish churches of the Hanseatic city of Stralsund in Germany. It was dedicated in 1279 to St. Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors. Since 1524 it is an Evangelical Lutheran church.HistoryThe construction of St. Nicholas' Church began as a hall church with a tower in 1234, after Stralsund acquired city rights. The planning and building in the oldest part of Stralsund continued alongside the planning of the Town Hall in the Old Market. This suggests that Nicholas' Church was from the beginning intended to be the council church of the city. A council church was not just a place of worship, but was also the location for holding board meetings, receiving ambassadors, announcing laws and regulations, handling legal cases, and preserving city archives.After 1270, the unfinished St. Nicholas' Church was rebuilt as a basilica, following the design of St. Mary's Church in Lübeck. The just-completed choir of the church hall had to be demolished to make way for the choir of the new basilica, which consisted of an inner choir and an ambulatory. Around the chancel, which consisted of five sides of an imaginary octagon, five chapels were created. Parts of the walls of the side aisles served as an abutment from then on. In the beginning, the building material of the church building was brick. Over the course of time, at least 65 different types of stone were used.

"Die Rats- und Pfarrkirche St. Nikolai ist die älteste Kirche Stralsunds 1270-1350. Bis heute fasziniert der im Stil der Backsteingotik errichtete Bau mit seiner überaus reichen Ausstattung von der Gotik bis zur Moderne. Nach vielen Restaurierungen erstrahlt das Mittelschiff wieder in der Architekturfarbigkeit von 1350. Eine Auswahl der bedeutendsten Ausstattungstücke: Hochaltar 1480; Hauptaltar 1708-33; Stuckplastik Anna Selbdritt 1270; Relieftafeln des Rigafahrer-Gestühls 1370; versch. Wandmalereien aus dem 14. Jh.; Astronomische Uhr 1394, Buchholz-Orgel 1841 - vollst. restauriert 2003-06"