The St. Nicholas Church () is one of the major churches of central

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Germany (in Leipzig's district

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

). Construction started in Romanesque style in 1165, but in the 16th century, the church was turned into a Gothic

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

. Baroque elements like the tower were added in the 18th century. In the 18th century, several works by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, who was as

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...

the music director of

Thomaskirche The St. Thomas Church () is a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany, located at the western part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's central district. Martin Luther preached in the church in 1539. It is associated with several well-known ...

and Nikolaikirche from 1723 to 1750, premiered here. The Neoclassical interior dates to the late 18th century. The church rose to national fame in 1989 with the Monday Demonstrations when it became the centre of peaceful revolt against communist rule. By capacity, it is one of the largest churches in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

History

Construction of the church began about 1165. It is named after

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

, patron of travelers and merchants. It was built originally in the Romanesque style (with twin towers) but was extended and enlarged in the early 16th century in the Gothic style. The Baroque main tower was added in 1730; the portal dates from 1759. Notable philosopher and mathematician

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to ...

was baptized here as an infant on 3 July 1646. From 1784 to 1797 the interior was remodeled by German architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe in the Neoclassical style. The church has been a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

seat since 1539 after the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, but today the Catholic Church is also allowed to use it. The church saw four of the five performances (including the premiere) of the '' St John Passion'' by

on Good Friday in 1724, 1728, 1732, and 1749, as well as many of his

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s and

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s performed by the Thomanerchor.

Peaceful demonstrations

From 1989 to 1991, people gathered at St. Nicholas on Monday evenings, leading to spontaneous peaceful protests against the government. Cabaret artist said about the events which started in the St. Nicholas Church:

"There was no head of the revolution. The head was the Nikolaikirche and the body the centre of the city. There was only one leadership: Monday, 5 pm, St. Nicholas Church."

Post-reunification

More recently, the church has been struggling to find the funds for interior restorations which have been ongoing since 1968.

Description

Organ

The church organ was built by Friedrich Ladegast in 1862 with four manuals and 83 stops. Its renovated from mechanical (tracker) action to pneumatic action in the early 20th century by Wilhem Sauer.Die Orgel
Nikokaikirche, Leipzig, retrieved 2 May 2013 2004 Eule Organbuilding (

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

) rebuilt the organ to mechanical key action, reconstructed losted stops and added a 5th manual. Now the organ has 103 stops, included the 83 Ladegast-stops. It is the largest organ in Saxony.

Today

The current pastor for the church is Bernhard Stief. Nikolaikirche has a capacity of over 1,400 seats.

References

External links

Nikolaikirche official website
{{Authority control

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

Leipzig Nicholas Leipzig Nicholas Articles containing video clips