Wismar - Nikolaikirche

Slavic Obodrites lived in the area, where Wismar is now, until the end of the 12th century.

The exact date of the city's foundation is not clear, it had civic rights already in 1229 when migrants from Holstein and Westphalia settled here. The "Lübsches Stadtrecht" (town law) was confirmed in 1266. In 1259 Wismar joined a defensive agreement with Lübeck and Rostock, in order to counter the numerous Baltic pirates. Subsequently, more cities would agree to cooperate as commerce and trade were increasingly coordinated and regulated. These policies would provide the basis for the development of the "Hanseatic League". By the 13th and 14th centuries, Wismar had grown into a flourishing Hanseatic trading hub.

In 1632, during the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered the city, and the Swedish Crown received in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 after the end of the Thirty Years' War.

Swedish rule over Wismar ended de facto in 1803 when Sweden pledged the city to the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin for 99 years. Formally, Wismar reverted to Germany in 1903 and Sweden waived its right to redeem the pledge.

Wismar is a typical representative of the Hanseatic League with its city-wide Brick Gothic structures and gabled patrician houses and has alongside the historical old town of Stralsund been declared the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar".

The Nicolaikirche (Church St. Nicholas) was built from 1381 until 1487 as a church for sailors and fishermen. St. Nicholas is a fine testaments to mediaeval brick architecture in northern Germany.

In 1381, the city council commissioned the master mason Heinrich von Bremen to complete the choir. The consecration of the high altar is documented for 1403. Heinrich von Bremen continued to work until 1415. In 1434 work was carried out on the north aisle and later the south aisle. Under the direction of Peter Stolp and Hermann von Münster in 1459, the work was completed to such an extent that the church could be consecrated. From 1485 to 1487, Hans Mertens built the two upper storeys of the tower, and the spire was added in 1508.

In December 1703, a storm destroyed the spire. Its parts smashed through the roof and the vaults of the nave. Many pieces of the interior furnishings were destroyed. Afterwards, the tower received a transverse gable roof and the nave a flat ceiling. The renovation of the furnishings lasted until the second half of the 18th century. It was not until 1867 that a vault was erected again. The air raids during the Second World War caused only minor damage to the church.

After the Second World War, the Nikolaikirche was the least damaged of all the large churches in Wismar. Many works of art had been stored away and thus survived the war, but the churches lay in ruins and the important Marienkirche was later blown up.

The Schifferaltar (mariners' altar) was donated by the sailors' and mariners' brotherhood to the St. Nicholas Church around 1500. It was probably created by a local workshop.

The central figure is a crescent moon Madonna accompanied by Nicholas (of Bari) and James the Elder, two saints particularly revered by seafarers.

They stand for two of the most important pilgrimage sites of the Middle Ages: Santiago de Compostela and Bari.