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St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig

File:Leipzig Nikolaikirche BW 2012-09-10 18-11-46 cropped.jpg
Nikolaikirche, Leipzig, 2012
File:Nikolaikirche Leipzig Inneres.jpg
Interior, facing the altar
File:Leipzig Nikolaikirche organ.jpg
Organ

The St. Nicholas Church (in German: Nikolaikirche) has long been one of the most famous in Leipzig, and rose to national fame in 1989 with the Monday Demonstrations when it became the centre of peaceful revolt against communist rule.

History

The church was built in about 1165 around the same time Leipzig was founded. It is named after St. Nicholas, the patron saint of merchants and wholesalers, and is situated in the very heart of the city at the intersection of two then important trade roads, the Via Regia and Via Imperii. It is built partially in the Romanesque style but was extended and enlarged in the early 16th century with a more Gothic style. In 1794 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 the Catholic Church is allowed to use it too.

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.

Organ

The church organ is one of the best examples of the 'romantic' style of organ-building in Europe and was renovated from mechanical (tracker) action to pneumatic action in the early 20th century.[1] More recently the church has been struggling to find the funds for interior restorations which have been ongoing since 1968. The church's administration is led by Bernhard Stief.[citation needed]

Peaceful demonstrations

Main article: Monday demonstrations in East Germany
Cabaret artist Bernd-Lutz Lange 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]

Gallery

  • Leipzig Nikolaikirche 18 Jh.jpg

    Square in the 18th century

  • Nikolaikirche Leipzig 2009.jpg

    Nikolaikirche

  • Vxla-jsbach-at-nikolaikirche.jpg

    Bust of J.S. Bach at the Nikolaikirche

  • Nikolaikirche Leipzig.jpg

    Tower

  • Altar Nikolaikirche.jpg

    Altar

  • Vxla-nikolaikirche.jpg

    Organ and organ case

  • Nikolaikirche Decke.jpg

    Painted ceiling over altar

  • Nikolaikirche Nordkapelle.jpg

    The north chapel

  • Nikolaikirche Säule Leipzig.jpg

    Column detail

  • Leipzig Nikolaikirche Eingangshalle Deckengemälde.jpg

    Painting by Adam Friedrich Oeser

  • Stamps of Germany (DDR) 1990, MiNr 3315.jpg

    Stamp of the Monday demonstrations

References

  1. ^ Die Orgel Invalid language code. Nikokaikirche, Leipzig, retrieved 2 May, 2013
  2. ^ The rise and fall of the German Democratic Republic, 1945–1990, by Mike Dennis, Longman, 2000. p.278 ISBN 0-582-24562-1

External links

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Coordinates: 51°20′25″N 12°22′43″E / 51.34028°N 12.37861°E / 51.34028; 12.37861{{#coordinates:51|20|25|N|12|22|43|E|region:DE-SN_type:landmark |primary |name= }}