About this place
On the Alter Markt, the Old Market Square where Kiel first took shape, the Nikolaikirche has watched over the city since around 1242, making it the oldest building in town. Dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron of sailors and merchants, the Gothic hall church was gutted by an Allied air raid in 1944 and carefully rebuilt from 1950, blending surviving medieval stone with clean modern lines. Outside its doors stands the Geistkämpfer, or Spirit Fighter, Ernst Barlach's towering 1928 bronze of an angel mastering a wild beast. Condemned by the Nazis as degenerate art and nearly melted down, the sculpture was hidden through the war and finally placed here in 1954, a quiet emblem of the spirit outlasting darkness.
Key facts
- 1242 founded — Kiel's oldest building, begun soon after the town was founded by Count Adolf IV of Holstein
- 1944 year — An Allied air raid on 22 May burned the tower and roof and left the church a ruin
- 5.5 meters — The height of Barlach's bronze Geistkämpfer including its base, standing outside the church
📍 Alter Markt 18, 24103, Kiel