St. Nikolai Church (Magdeburg)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Detail of the cityscape of Magdeburg by Matthäus Merian , printed in 1653, drawn for sure before the city was destroyed in 1631 ; St. Nicolai with No. 10
Sankt Nikolai Church in 1927, view from the Cathedral Square

The Sankt Nikolai Church was a collegiate church in Magdeburg's old town , which was consecrated to St. Nicholas . It was demolished after being severely damaged in World War II .

history

First location

A first Nikolaikirche, which was roughly at the point where the southern tower of Magdeburg Cathedral was later built, was destroyed by Wenden . According to another opinion, the first location is said to have been in the area of ​​the later monastery of Our Dear Women . This church is said to have been rebuilt around 1012 under Archbishop Waltard . Other information date the construction of the Nikolaikirche, which was also consecrated to Saint Peter , around the year 1023 under Archbishop Humfried . These churches had a round floor plan. It functioned as the baptistery and thus the baptistery of the cathedral at that time.

Archbishop Adelgot von Veltheim , fulfilling Hunfried's wish, founded a monastery near this church in 1107 or 1108 , to whose lands the (former) village of Zernitz belonged. The old church building was demolished during the construction of Magdeburg Cathedral around 1240 in order to erect the southern cathedral tower in its place; the remains were used in the construction of the cathedral.

Second location

The Nikolaistift received as a replacement from Archbishop Burchard III. von Schraplau 1310 a much larger plot of land in the north-western area of ​​the Domplatz (at that time still Neuer Markt ). By 1360, a simply designed church made of greywacke - quarry stone and hewn sandstone without a tower, was built there, but it was considered the largest hall church in the city. The hall vault consisted of three naves of equal height, which rested on two rows of arcades with eight pillars each. The plan of the church was rectangular. A cloister was built on the north side of the church .

reformation

In 1540 a fire damaged the cloister and the church, which the monks of the Berge monastery used as a barn until it was repaired.

During the Reformation , Saint Nikolai became Protestant. The first Protestant service took place on December 6, 1573. The monastery lost its original meaning.

Thirty Years' War

During the storming of Magdeburg in the Thirty Years War on May 10, 1631, Sankt Nikolai was also damaged. During the renovation in 1654, the original vault was not rebuilt, but a flat ceiling was created. The first services took place from 1693. However, Saint Nikolai did not have its own parish. Because of a lack of demand, the services were soon stopped again. The use was then limited to regular spiritual chants. The cloister, which was heavily damaged in the war, fell into ruin.

Change of use

In 1716 Leberecht von Guericke received permission to build a family burial ground.

To create a passage from Domplatz to Breite Weg , the governor Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau had the cloister torn down in 1724 . Even today a street in this area is called Kreuzgangstraße .

French occupation

During the time of the French occupation, the church served as a hospital and barracks . The interior furnishings, including many of the epitaphs , have been removed and the floor raised 30 cm.

In 1810 it was decided to give up the St. Nikolai Church; the pen was picked up. The building was to replace the 1,812 spent nuclear arsenal serve.

Profanation of the Church

The reconstruction work on the armory began in 1824, the church became an unadorned functional building. After the armory was closed, the building served as an armory museum and later as a furniture store.

Ruins of the church after the end of the Second World War
Model of the Nikolai Church

National Socialism and World War II

The National Socialists redesigned the church in 1938 as a place of consecration for the National Socialist movement and a steel helmet museum .

During the heavy air raid on Magdeburg on January 16, 1945, the St. Nikolai Church was also badly damaged. Essentially only the outer walls remained. These were also missing in the southwest corner.

Demolition and rebuilding

In 1959 the ruin was torn down. At the site of the church, a residential building in prefabricated construction was initially built and later, in 2005, the Green Citadel of Magdeburg . In the basement of the Green Citadel, a hall was set up, which was prepared with stones recovered from the church. Today, a model erected on site is reminiscent of the St. Nikolai Church.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Matthias Friske : Medieval churches in western Fäming and Vorflming . Berlin 2007, s + S. 96 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

Coordinates: 52 ° 7 '35.3 "  N , 11 ° 38' 0.8"  E