About this place
The Nikolaiviertel, or St. Nicholas Quarter, is where Berlin began. Founded around the year 1200 beside a ford across the Spree on the old trade route, it grew up around the Nikolaikirche, a late Romanesque basilica raised around 1230 and still the oldest church in the city. For centuries its tangle of narrow alleys, taverns and merchant houses formed the historic heart of Berlin, but Allied bombing and the Battle of Berlin reduced it to rubble, and the church's vaults collapsed in 1949. Left in ruins for decades in East Berlin, the quarter was finally rebuilt between 1980 and 1987 under GDR architect Günter Stahn for the city's 750th anniversary. The result is unique and slightly uncanny: faithfully reconstructed historic gems like the Rococo Ephraim-Palais and the Knoblauchhaus stand shoulder to shoulder with prefabricated concrete Plattenbau blocks dressed up in gabled, old-Berlin costume. Today its cosy lanes, cafés and traditional restaurants offer a deliberate, charming contrast to the grand boulevards and monuments you have walked so far.
Key facts
- 1230 year — The Nikolaikirche was built around this date, making it Berlin's oldest church
- 1987 year — The ruined quarter was rebuilt for Berlin's 750th anniversary
- 1200 year — The settlement was founded around this time on a trade route across the Spree
📍 Nikolaikirchplatz, 10178, Berlin