St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig

Last updated
St. Nicholas Church
Nikolaikirche
Nicolaikirche Leipzig.jpg
Nikolaikirche in 2012
St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig
Location Leipzig
CountryGermany
Denomination Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony
Previous denomination Catholic
Website nikolaikirche.de
Architecture
Style Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical (interior)
Groundbreaking c. 1165
Specifications
Capacity1,400+
Interior, facing the altar Nikolaikirche Leipzig Inneres.jpg
Interior, facing the altar
Organ with the Ladegast-Case from 1862 Leipzig Nikolaikirche organ.jpg
Organ with the Ladegast-Case from 1862
(video) External and internal views of Nikolaikirche on a snowy day, December 2014

The St. Nicholas Church (German : Nikolaikirche) is one of the major churches of central Leipzig, Germany (in Leipzig's district Mitte). Construction started in Romanesque style in 1165, but in the 16th century, the church was turned into a Gothic hall church. Baroque elements like the tower were added in the 18th century.

Contents

In the 18th century, several works by Johann Sebastian Bach, who was as Thomaskantor the music director of Thomaskirche 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.

History

Construction of the church began about 1165. It is named after St. Nicholas, 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. [1]

Notable philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 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 seat since 1539 after the Protestant Reformation, but today the Catholic Church is also allowed to use it. [1]

The church saw four of the five performances (including the premiere) of the St John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach on Good Friday in 1724, 1728, 1732, and 1749, as well as many of his cantatas and oratorios 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 Bernd-Lutz Lange  [ de ] 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." [2]

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. [3] 2004 Eule Organbuilding (Bautzen) 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. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aachen Cathedral</span> Catholic cathedral in Aachen, Germany

Aachen Cathedral is a Catholic church in Aachen, Germany and the seat of the Diocese of Aachen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Köthen</span> Town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Köthen ( ) is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Halle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hildesheim Cathedral</span> Church in Hildesheim, Germany

Hildesheim Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary or simply St. Mary's Cathedral, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany, that serves as the seat of the Diocese of Hildesheim. The cathedral has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1985, together with the nearby St. Michael's Church because of its unique art and outstanding Romanesque architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Nicholas Church, Hamburg</span> Church in Hamburg

The Church of St. Nicholas was a Gothic Revival cathedral that was formerly one of the five Lutheran Hauptkirchen in the city of Hamburg, Germany. The original chapel, a wooden building, was completed in 1195. It was replaced by a brick church in the 14th century, which was eventually destroyed by fire in 1842. The church was completely rebuilt by 1874, and was the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876. It was designed by the English architect George Gilbert Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Church, Lüneburg</span> Church in Lower Saxony, Germany

The Church of John the Baptist is the oldest Lutheran church in Lüneburg, Germany. It is located in the city centre. Lüneburg is on the European Route of Brick Gothic and the church is an example of this style. With its 108-meter high spire, it is the second tallest church tower in Lower Saxony – after St. Andrew's in Hildesheim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Thomas Church, Leipzig</span> Church in Leipzig, Germany

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 composers, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, who was its Thomaskantor from 1723 until his death in 1750. The church holds his remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrocław Cathedral</span> Cathedral in Wrocław, Poland

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław is the seat of the Archdiocese of Wrocław and a landmark of the city of Wrocław in Poland. The cathedral, located in the Cathedral Island, is a Gothic church with Neo-Gothic additions. The current standing cathedral is the fourth church to have been built on the site.

Zacharias Hildebrandt was a German organ builder. In 1714, his father Heinrich Hildebrandt, a cartwright master, apprenticed him to the famous organ builder Gottfried Silbermann, brother of Andreas Silbermann in Freiberg. In 1721, Hildebrandt finished his masterpiece, the organ of the Nikolaikirche of Langhennersdorf, a small village near Freiberg. Afterwards he built an organ in Störmthal near Leipzig and from 1724 to 1726 an organ in Lengefeld. On this project, a dispute developed with Gottfried Silbermann, who treated him as a rival and sued him. The dispute was settled by an agreement in which Hildebrandt obliged himself to take over only orders rejected by Silbermann. Therefore, he moved his work to the region near Leipzig and to Thuringia. J.S. Bach thought Hildebrandt was the best organ builder of his time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrich Ladegast</span> German organ builder (1818–1905)

Friedrich Ladegast was a famous German organ builder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merseburg Cathedral</span> Church in Merseburg, Germany

Merseburg Cathedral is the proto-cathedral of the former Bishopric of Merseburg in Merseburg, Germany. The mostly Gothic church is considered an artistic and historical highlight in southern Saxony-Anhalt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Church, Rostock</span> Church in Rostock, Germany

St. Mary's Church, Rostock, in German Marienkirche, is the biggest of three town churches found in the Hanseatic city of Rostock, in northern Germany. The other two are St. Peter's (Petrikirche) and St. Nicholas (Nikolaikirche). A fourth, St. James' (Jakobikirche), was heavily damaged during the Second World War and subsequently demolished. St. Mary's was designated in 1265 as the main parish church. Since the Protestant Reformation in 1531, it houses a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulinerkirche, Leipzig</span> Church in Leipzig, Germany

The Paulinerkirche was a church on the Augustusplatz in Leipzig. It was built in 1231 as the Klosterkirche St. Pauli for the Dominican monastery in Leipzig. From the foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409, it served as the university church. After the Protestant Reformation it was donated to the university and was inaugurated in 1545 by Martin Luther as the Universitätskirche St. Pauli, later also called Unikirche. Johann Sebastian Bach was director of music for "festal" (holiday) services in 1723−25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomaskantor</span> Musical director of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig

Thomaskantor is the common name for the musical director of the Thomanerchor, now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, Cantor et Director Musices, describes the two functions of cantor and director. As the cantor, he prepared the choir for service in four Lutheran churches, Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche, Neue Kirche and Peterskirche. As director, he organized music for city functions such as town council elections and homages. Functions related to the university took place at the Paulinerkirche. Johann Sebastian Bach was the most famous Thomaskantor, from 1723 to 1750.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neustädter Kirche, Hanover</span> Church in Hanover, Lower Saxony

The New Town Church is a main Lutheran parish church in Hanover, Germany. Its official name is St. John's Church of the court and city in the New Town at Hanover. The Baroque church was built in 1666–70 and is one of the oldest Protestant aisleless churches in Lower Saxony, conceived for the sermon as the main act of the Lutheran church service. Mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Field Marshal Carl August von Alten are buried here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Divi Blasii</span> Church in Thuringia, Germany

Divi Blasii is a Gothic church in the Thuringian town of Mühlhausen, central Germany. Besides St Mary's, it is one of Mühlhausen's two principal churches. Divi Blasii is a three-aisle, cruciform hall church, situated on the Untermarkt in the historical centre of the town. The elaborately designed display façade with tracery, pinnacles and a wheel window on the north side is located on an old trade route. Today, Divi Blasii is the central parish church of the Lutheran parish of Mühlhausen within the Protestant Church in Central Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Church, Mühlhausen</span> Church in Thuringia, Germany

St. Mary's Church in the town of Mühlhausen, central Germany, is the second-largest church building in Thuringia after Erfurt Cathedral. It was constructed mainly during the 14th century in the Gothic style. The church's 86.7-metre-high central spire, built in 1898 to 1903, is the highest in the state and forms a significant feature of the town's skyline. St. Mary's was a site of events relating to the German Peasants' War around 1525, as the revolutionary leader Thomas Müntzer was active as a pastor at the church. The Sauer organ, built in 1891, is considered the largest surviving 19th-century organ in Thuringia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Matthew, Leipzig</span> Church

St. Matthew was a church in the old town of Leipzig. During its history it had several names and functions. As a church of the Franciscan order, built in 1488, it was known as Barfüßerkirche and Heiliggeistkirche. It served as a Lutheran church, known as Neukirche, from 1699. A new congregation formed in 1876 and named the church Matthäikirche. The building was destroyed in a bombing in 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Störmthal</span> Village of Großpösna in Saxony, Germany

Störmthal is a village, part of Großpösna in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany. It is known for its church in Baroque style. The organ, an early work by Zacharias Hildebrandt, was played and inaugurated by Johann Sebastian Bach and is still in mostly the condition of Bach's time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Nicholas Church, Wismar</span>

St Nicholas of Wismar was built from 1381 until 1487 as a church for sailors and fishermen. St Nicholas is one of the finest testaments to mediaeval brick architecture in northern Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Nicholas Church Square</span>

The St. Nicholas Church Square is a square in the city center of Leipzig, Germany. The St. Nicholas Church stands on it. The church and square have particular significance for the Peaceful Revolution of 1989.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nikolaikirche zu Leipzig (German)". Nikolaikirche congregation. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  2. The rise and fall of the German Democratic Republic, 1945–1990, by Mike Dennis, Longman, 2000. p.278 ISBN   0-582-24562-1
  3. Die Orgel (in German) Nikokaikirche, Leipzig, retrieved 2 May 2013

51°20′25″N12°22′43″E / 51.34028°N 12.37861°E / 51.34028; 12.37861