St. Nicholas Church, Berlin

St. Nicholas Church, Berlin tickets: which one to buy

Saint Nicholas Church, the Nikolaikirche, stands in the Nikolaiviertel, the Nicholas Quarter, Berlin's oldest residential area, near Alexanderplatz and the Red Town Hall, and it is now a museum run by the Stadtmuseum Berlin, with an admission fee. It is the oldest church in Berlin. The museum explains the history of the church and the medieval city.

The Nikolaiviertel was rebuilt in the 1980s by the East German government for the city's 750th anniversary, recreating a medieval atmosphere with narrow streets, cafes and restaurants. Walking tours of central Berlin pass through the quarter, along with the Berlin Cathedral, Museum Island, the Red Town Hall and the TV Tower. The Ephraim Palace museum is nearby. The church hosts concerts in the evening, and the museum is included in some Berlin museum passes. Evening concert tickets are sold at the museum desk and online.

Visiting St. Nicholas Church, Berlin: what to see

The church was begun around 1230 in the late Romanesque style, and it was rebuilt as a Gothic hall church in the fifteenth century; the twin spires on the western front were added during a restoration in the nineteenth century. The church was an important place in the history of Berlin, where the first city council met and where the Protestant Reformation was introduced in the Brandenburg region. The church was almost completely destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt in the 1980s. Today, the museum displays medieval tombstones, epitaphs and sculptures, and it tells the story of the church and the city from its foundation to the present.

The hymn writer Paul Gerhardt was a pastor here, and a memorial commemorates him. In 1991, the church hosted the first session of the parliament of reunited Berlin. The exhibition displays church bells and carved stone fragments from the medieval church. Tombstones and epitaphs of Berlin families line the walls of the nave. A reconstruction shows how the medieval town of Berlin and Colln looked. Audio guides explain the story in several languages. The vaults and pillars of the interior were rebuilt faithfully after the war. The church's twin spires are visible across the Spree. The museum also shows how the Nikolaiviertel was reconstructed in the 1980s.

St. Nicholas Church, Berlin opening hours and the best time to go

The museum is open daily, with shorter hours on some days. The Nikolaiviertel is a pleasant place to visit at any time, with restaurants serving traditional Berlin dishes. Berlin is busy all year, with peaks in summer and at Christmas, when markets fill the city; the market at the Red Town Hall is nearby. Evening concerts in the church take advantage of its acoustics. Winter is cold. Allow about forty-five minutes for the museum, and walk around the quarter and along the Spree river to Museum Island. The DDR Museum, about ten minutes' walk along the river, shows everyday life in East Germany in an interactive way.