St Nikolai Hamburg Germany

St Nikolai Hamburg Germany

St. Nikolai’s church, Hamburg, Germany is the second tallest building in Hamburg and was the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876. It was formerly one of the five Lutheran Hauptkirchen (main churches) in the city of Hamburg. Unfortunately the church is now in ruins, serving as a memorial and a major architectural landmark.

In the World War II due to frequent air attacks St. Nikolai’s church was demolished which continued again in 1951. The restoration work happened in 1990’s and was supported by The Rettet die Nikolaikirche e.V. (Save the Nikolai church) Foundation. The city of Hamburg, the congregation of St. Nikolai's Church and various corporate sponsors and private contributors supported the foundation whole heartedly in its work. The organization look after the building ‘s existing structure, restoration , arranging events and displays in the church , and operating an information center housed in the church’s crypt.

A chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas , patron saint of sailors was constructed after the founding of the Nikolai settlement and a harbor on the Alster in the 11th century. Some years before the on slaught of the Black Death in 1935 construction on a new brick building began. The structure was designed to be a three- nave hall church in the typical north German Brick Gothic style. The tower, which was erected in 1517, burned down in 1589. A tower was built to replace it, but it also collapsed in 1644. Peter Marquardt designed the last tower of the old Nikolai church. This tower was 122 meters high and with its characteristic dome it became the landmark of the city.

During the Reformation As the center of one of the four Hamburg parishes, Nikolai's church was heavily involved in the ongoing theological debates. The old Nikolaikirche was the first large public building to burn in the great fire of May 1842. The destruction moved the people very much. The spire was engulfed by the fire at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Despite desperate efforts, it was not possible to control the fire due to in adequate equipment of the day. It finally collapsed, setting the nave on fire and burning it completely. Shortly after the fire, the church was rebuilt again. The English architect George Gilbert Scott, designed an 86 meter-long nave, with a 28 meter-high vault. The architecture was influenced by French and English gothic styles, though the pointed spire is typically German.

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