Hi Hive Friends,

how are you? Maybe you read my last post about Wismar, where I introduced you to the city and also the Schweinsbrücke. Today I want to talk about a place of interest that lies directly on this bridge - the St. Nikolai Church. There are even buildings and houses near it that bear its name.

Wismar offers the second highest brick Gothic basilica in the world

St. Nicholas Church is a very special church. Just looking at it, it popped into my head that it must be very big. Either, I thought, the square around it is very small, or the church is very big. I came to the conclusion that the church must be very big. Because the houses around it were not small, but they looked like small Lego houses right next to the church;). Personally, I felt that the space where the church stood was a bit too narrow for it. It looked a bit cramped. But that was just my feeling;) Have you ever been to Wismar and visited the church? What was your impression?

To return to the question of whether the church is really that tall: yes, it is. It is the second tallest brick Gothic basilica in the world. The brick construction is typical for Wismar. We also wanted to visit the church from the inside, but unfortunately that was only possible with a test and we hadn't thought of taking one beforehand. Maybe it looks different in summer and you can get in without a test.

St. Nikolai is one of the most beautiful medieval brick buildings of Wismar

St. Nikolai Church is located not far from Wismar's main railway station. It is, so to speak, the first sight you see when you walk into Wismar from the station. If you ask me, St. Nikolai is one of the most beautiful medieval brick buildings in the whole of Wismar, maybe even in the whole of Germany. It is very imposing and looks very powerful. Only one church is higher than it, which is also a brick Gothic basilica: St. Mary's Church in Lübeck. A place not far from Wismar - very interesting, don't you think?
The church in Wismar is considered a successor building to the church in Lübeck. But it doesn't look like a successor at all, as big as it is ;)

Warm red colour due to the bricks

Characteristic of the church is its warm red colour (due to the brick). In general, this "building material" is characteristic of many buildings in Wismar.
I like this warm, red colour. How do you like it? The church is particularly striking not only because of its height, but also because of its steep, straight "body". I automatically looked up and almost overstretched my head (is that even possible?!?).
The church of St. Nikolai is also known as the Hanseatic Great Church. Together with St. Mary's and St. George's churches, it was one of the large churches that greatly characterise Wismar.

In fact, the church is also very old. It was built around 1381 (that's when it was started). The construction lasted for more than a century. As with so many churches, the church was damaged from time to time, in this case by a hurricane. Part of the tower collapsed onto the nave. The church was then rebuilt in the Baroque style.

Wismar suffered greatly during wartime, especially in the Second World War. The city was badly destroyed. Even today, you can still find significant pieces of the
St. Georgen and St. Marien churches that were destroyed can still be found in the Nikolaikirche.

Unfortunately, the steeple, which was destroyed, could not be renewed or rebuilt because there was no money. I hope that the next time I am in Wismar (it is only a little more than an hour's train ride from Rostock), I will be able to visit the interior of the church. The interior is supposed to be built in a baroque style. The vaults were rebuilt in 1867. Only a few parts of the original were preserved.
The main altar is also built in the late Baroque style. There is also a baptismal font and a reading desk made of Gothic pews on the altar (unfortunately, I only got the information from reading on the internet). I hope I have made wismar a little more appealing to you and that you would like to get to know the city for yourself. It's definitely worth a visit, and if you're ever in the area or on a Baltic Sea holiday in northern Germany, I highly recommend checking out the Hanseatic city:)

I hope you enjoyed the post about the church in Wismar. How do you like the brick architecture? I find this warm red colour very pleasant.
I look forward to your comments. Until then :)