St. Nicholas Church, Hamburg

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

The ruins of Saint Nicholas Church, the Nikolaikirche, stand near the Hopfenmarkt in central Hamburg, a short walk from the Town Hall and the Speicherstadt, and the site is now a memorial to the victims of war and persecution from 1933 to 1945. The tower has a panoramic lift that takes visitors up to a viewing platform at 76 metres, and a documentation centre in the crypt explains the bombing of Hamburg in 1943;

both are included in a single ticket. The view from the tower covers the city centre, the harbour and the Speicherstadt. Walking tours of Hamburg often stop at the memorial, and it is an important place for understanding the city's history. The ruins themselves can be seen from the street at any time. The site is a short walk from the U-Bahn station Rodingsmarkt. The documentation centre in the crypt has information in German and English.

Visiting St. Nicholas Church, Hamburg: what to see

A church stood here from the twelfth century, and after a great fire in 1842 destroyed the old church, a new neo-Gothic church was built between 1846 and 1874 to designs by the English architect George Gilbert Scott. Its spire, 147 metres high, made it for a few years the tallest building in the world, and it is still the second tallest church tower in Germany. In July 1943, during Operation Gomorrah, Allied bombing raids created a firestorm that destroyed much of Hamburg and killed tens of thousands of people, and the church was heavily damaged. The ruins of the nave were cleared, but the tower and parts of the choir were preserved as a memorial.

The exhibition in the crypt documents the air war and its victims, including the bombing of Coventry and Warsaw. A sculpture by Edith Kramer and a carillon of 51 bells are part of the memorial. The ruined walls of the choir and fragments of carved stone stand in the open. The tower's structure shows the scars of the bombing. The exhibition includes photographs, eyewitness accounts and objects recovered from the ruins. A mosaic in the choir ruins, Ecce Homo, by Oskar Kokoschka, recalls suffering. Sculptures in the grounds commemorate victims of the war. The lift is glass-walled and rises through the tower, offering views as it climbs. The tower's spire remains a landmark of the Hamburg skyline.

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

The memorial and tower lift are open daily, with longer hours in summer. The anniversary of Operation Gomorrah in late July is marked with commemorations. The viewing platform is best visited on clear days, and the carillon plays at set times. Hamburg is busy all year, and the nearby Christmas markets in December attract crowds. The weather is often cool and rainy. Allow about an hour for the tower and the exhibition, and walk to the Town Hall and the Speicherstadt afterwards. The Hamburg Town Hall offers guided tours of its lavish rooms on most days and is about five minutes' walk away.