St. Nicholas Church

St. Nicholas Church (Greifswalder Dom St. Nikolai) is a Brick Gothic church located in the western part of the centre of Greifswald. The first written sources referring to a church dedicated to St. Nicholas in Greifswald are from 1263. The oldest extant parts of the church have been dated to the last third of the 13th century. In 1385 work was begun on a new choir with a straight eastern wall, which was finished in 1395.

In connection to the founding of the University of Greifswald, the church was raised to the status of collegiate church. The new status of the church also brought wealth, and in the same year construction began to make the tower higher. In the years 1480–1500, the octagonal upper part of the tower was built and with the addition of the also octagonal, c. 60 metres high Gothic spire at the beginning of the 16th century, the construction of the tower was finished. At the time, it reached a height of 120 metres.

The church lost its spire twice during severe storms. The first time was in 1515, when the top collapsed, apparently without causing any severe damage to the church building. It was not replaced until 1609. The collapse on 13 February 1650 initially destroyed the roof of the church, causing several of the vaults of the nave and southern aisle to collapse, and a few days later, the eastern wall of the church also collapsed. The interior furnishings of the church were completely destroyed. Immediately after the collapse, the council of the city called for donations for the reconstruction of the church.  In 1651 the vaults and roof were rebuilt, and one year later the church tower received its new, Baroque spire.

The interior of the church was thoroughly renewed in 1823–1832.

Address
Domstraße 21-22, Greifswald, Germany

Established
c. 1263