Tangermünde - St. Nicolai

Tangermünde Castle was first mentioned in 1009 as "civitate Tongeremuthi" because this is where the Tanger (Tongera) flows into the Elbe. The city was first mentioned in 1275.

From 1373 to 1378 Tangermünde was the second seat of Emperor Charles IV, who appointed his 12-year-old son Wenzel Elector of Brandenburg in 1373. After the death of Emperor Charles IV, there was a turbulent development in the Mark, until the Hohenzollerns were enfeoffed with the Mark as electors in 1415 and initially resided in Tangermünde.

The heyday of the Hanseatic city was the 15th century, when the city gates and the town hall were built in the North German brick Gothic style. At this time, St. Stephen's Church was expanded into a Gothic hall church. The city lost the Elector's favor after the uprising of 1488, when the citizens rebelled against the beer tax.

In 1617 the city burned down almost completely. After the fire, many magnificent half-timbered houses were built. Due to the Thirty Years' War, however, the city became a rather insignificant country town.
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Dedicated to the patron saint of merchants and seafarers, St. Nicolai was built by Dutch colonists during the city's expansion in the 1250s. The building has undergone numerous changes over the centuries. The late Gothic tower was built around 1460/1470. It stands on the site of an older tower. Church services have not been held here since the late 16th century. In the middle of the 17th century the church served as a poorhouse.

The former church later served as a military hospital, as a police prison and since 1856 as a fire station. After extensive renovation and conversion work in private hands, the Nikolaikirche has been used for gastronomy since May 2000.