St Nickolai Kirche is the oldest surviving building in Spandau, prettily located close to the…read more"Aldstadt Spandau" U-bahn station.
We visited Spandau on the recommendation of our guide book, which described the old town as having survived better than most in the area. This turned out to have been a little optimistic, as the old town has been heavily rebuilt and contains some large department stores, so - although pedestrianised - the atmosphere of most of it is definitely not historic. The area around the church, however, does contain a few half-timbered buildings and the square on which the church located is delightful.
The church itself was founded in 1239, but the present building dates from a rebuilding in 1370, probably completed around the end of the 14th century. The tower was added in 1467-8, but renewed in 1744 (after a fire in 1740), and completely rebuilt again after another fire, caused by Allied bombing in 1944. The church was also attacked during the Napoleonic Wars (see the cannon-ball lodged in its wall), but restored in 1839, and again after World War II in 1949. A further restoration in 1989 restored the tower to its pre-War appearance.
The church is constructed of brick, and consists of an aisled nave and apsed chancel with an ambulatory. The interior is largely whitewashed, better to display the brick structure, and particularly the attractive ribbed vaulting. Furnishings of note include the bronze font (1398), the magnificent Renaissance alter-piece (1582), and a crucifixion group dating from the early 16th century.
The magnificent late-17th century baroque pulpit was originally in the chapel of the City Palace in Potsdam: it was transferred to St John's church in 1751, and moved to the St Nickolai Kirche in 1903. The walls are hung with life-sized portraits of several former ministers from the 16th century onwards, and there are some fine memorial slabs from the 16th to 18th centuries.
The church holds regular services and is also a venue for concerts.
