St. Nicolas Church

St. Nicolas Church, known locally as St. Nikolaus, is a magnificent late Gothic brick church situated in the heart of the old town of Stendal, in the region of Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. This architectural gem, with its Romanesque origins and early Gothic west towers, is particularly renowned for its extensive collection of late medieval stained glass windows.

A Journey Through History

The origins of St. Nicolas Church can be traced back to the year 1188 when Margrave Otto II from the House of Ascania and his brother Heinrich of Gardelegen, sons of Otto I, established a collegiate foundation in Stendal. Initially intended to be a bishopric, the foundation was instead dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and merchants.

The collegiate chapter comprised twelve secular canons: the provost, the dean, and ten canons. This ecclesiastical body was independent of the bishop and reported directly to the Pope, making it the most significant spiritual center in the region after the bishoprics of Havelberg and Brandenburg. The provost was the highest-ranking clergyman in the Altmark, and the chapter held patronage over all parish churches in Stendal and many in the surrounding villages.

Construction of the first collegiate church began around the same time, a three-nave basilica with a transept and choir apse, similar to the monastery church of Jerichow. The lower part of the west facade from this initial construction still exists, beneath the two early Gothic towers. The current structure began to take shape in 1423. To preserve the predecessor building as long as possible, the choir, south wall, and north wall of the nave were constructed around the existing structure, which was only demolished after the outer walls were completed. By the mid-15th century, the new church was largely finished. This three-nave, four-bay hall church with a transept and long choir features a three-bay long choir that concludes with a polygon formed by seven sides of a decagon. The building bears a close resemblance to the slightly older pilgrimage church in Wilsnack, likely constructed by the same lodge.

The west building from the second quarter of the 13th century was retained from the original structure. The uppermost story of the towers, dating from the 15th century, is crowned with spires. The north side of the transept boasts a richly decorated stepped gable with a tracery rose window and two Star of David motifs at eaves height. A portal with a finely profiled sandstone frame and statues of Saints Nicholas and Bartholomew leads from the north into the transept.

Architectural Marvels

Inside, sturdy round pillars support the vaults. Each of the nearly square bays of the side aisles has two window axes, creating five-part vaults similar to those in the side aisles of Magdeburg Cathedral. The choir is separated by a rood screen with two passages, featuring an ambo on two columns and a vault facing west. On the north side, a vestibule with a rose window and stepped gable adjoins the second bay. This vestibule was necessary for access to the nave after a Marian chapel was added to the west wall of the tower front, blocking the western entrance to the nave. This chapel was demolished in 1730, and its presence is only discernible in the roofline of the west building.

The church's interior is adorned with a wealth of medieval stained glass windows, created between approximately 1425 and 1480. Although heavily restored in the 19th century, about half of the original glass remains. This extensive collection of medieval stained glass is unique in central Germany, surpassed only by the number of stained glass windows in Erfurt Cathedral.

Artistic Treasures

The altar, reconstructed from remnants of three different altars, features a shrine with Mary and the Three Kings in the style of the Beautiful Madonnas around 1430, in an unusual asymmetrical composition. Slightly younger is the predella with five female saints, originally crafted for St. Peter's Church in Seehausen. The wings, with four reliefs of the Marian legend, come from the Stendal museums.

The choir stalls, rich in carvings from around 1430, include free-standing figures and reliefs depicting scenes from the Old Testament on the armrests. The front rows are crowned with eight seated figures of prophets. The misericords of the rear seats feature imaginative carvings of masks, animals, mythical creatures, musical angels, and genre scenes.

The wooden pulpit, with its curved staircase and modest decorations, dates from 1744. Additionally, the church houses epitaphs such as that of Katharina Staude, who died in 1548, with a fine Renaissance relief, and that of Paulus Wagener, with a richly framed architectural setting from 1591. The church also contains a niche epitaph from the 1430s dedicated to Dietrich von Angern, the dean from 1390 to 1427, originally featuring a statue of Mary, which has not existed since at least the 18th century. In 2024, the metal sculptor Thomas Leu from Halle was commissioned to redesign the epitaph.

The organ, situated on a west gallery, features a façade from 1912 modeled on an older design, with a work from 1954 and 1970 by Alexander Schuke, comprising 56 registers, three manuals, and a pedal. The church's two towers house two bells: the Prayer Bell from 1683 in the south tower, tuned to d', and the Elector's Bell from 1691 in the north tower, tuned to c'. All other bells that once hung in the towers were lost during the two World Wars.

The Collegiate Buildings

To the south of the church lies the cloister with the chapter house. The west wing, destroyed in 1945, was rebuilt in a modern style by 2013. The east wing houses the two-story chapter house, with a two-aisled chapter hall on the lower floor. Completed in 1463, the chapter hall features ribbed vaults over low round pillars and broad pointed-arch windows with tracery. The south wing opens to the courtyard with broad pointed-arch arcades and displays decorative friezes of molded bricks between pointed-arch windows on the upper floor.

St. Nicolas Church stands as a testament to the rich ecclesiastical and architectural heritage of Stendal. Its storied past and artistic treasures make it a must-visit destination for anyone exploring the historical landscapes of Sachsen-Anhalt.